Asian shares slide as higher-rate fears hit technology stocks

Asian share markets fell sharply on Thursday as hotter US inflation revived concern that interest rates will stay high and investors reassessed richly valued artificial-intelligence stocks. The MSCI index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dropped 3.3%, while South Korea’s Kospi fell 8% and Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost 4.8%, Reuters reported.

Large technology names led the retreat. Samsung Electronics fell 9.3%, while SK Hynix and Kioxia lost more than 11%; SoftBank Group declined 9.4%. The falls followed renewed selling on Wall Street and reflected a change in the price investors are willing to pay for expected AI earnings when borrowing costs are elevated. Government bonds drew haven demand even as the inflation data complicated the outlook for monetary policy.

The IMF separately forecast Asian growth of 4.8% in 2026 and 4.4% in 2027, while warning that an energy shock linked to the Iran conflict, an AI-market correction and rising long-term yields could spill across the region.

One trading session does not establish a lasting bear market. It does, however, expose how concentrated technology holdings and expectations of cheaper money can amplify a repricing when both assumptions weaken at once.