Asian stocks are poised to extend Tuesday's losses, following a significant tech-led selloff on Wall Street that has fueled concerns about the longevity of the AI-driven equity rally. Equity-index futures for Japan and South Korea are pointing lower, while Hong Kong contracts show modest gains. This comes after the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 tumbled 3.3% and the S&P 500 fell 1.4% on Tuesday. A closely watched semiconductor gauge, which had more than doubled from its war-driven lows, slumped about 8%, highlighting the volatility in the tech sector.
The global selloff in technology stocks has triggered a sense of caution among investors regarding the sustainability of the AI frenzy that has powered the bull market. The "chip-wreck," as one Wall Street strategist described it, saw declines across all 30 members of the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. Companies like Micron Technology Inc., Marvell Technology Inc., and On Semiconductor Corp., each of which had more than doubled in 2026, were significant contributors to this downturn.
Attention is now shifting to memory chipmaker Micron Technology's quarterly results, due on Wednesday. These results are seen as a critical test for the tech sector, determining whether artificial intelligence spending can sustain its own rally and the broader tech market. Concerns are mounting among some analysts about the prudence of the unprecedented AI infrastructure investment from US hyper-scalers, with an increasingly unstable market structure presenting near-term risks for regional chip stocks. Micron's shares, for instance, are up more than 300% this year, making its earnings report particularly impactful.
