Kospi falls 1.4% as Asian stocks dip with AI, Fed meeting in focus
Attention is also on US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s Monday conference on a plan to economically isolate Iran
Asian stock markets experienced a slight decline on Monday, amid focus on artificial intelligence and the upcoming Federal Reserve's annual gathering. The Korean Kospi Index, which is a key indicator for AI investments, saw a 1.4% drop, largely driven by Samsung Electronics' announcement of returning up to 110 trillion won to investors in 2026.
Other Asian indices followed suit, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng falling 0.5% and Japan's Nikkei 225 and Topix both declining by 0.4%. The US S&P 500 futures remained stable, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index rose by 0.2%.
The week's focus was also on major tech companies like Alibaba Group, which announced a HK$80 billion ($10.2 billion) share sale, and SoftBank Group's record 1 trillion yen ($6.3 billion) retail bond offering. Nvidia, meanwhile, informed its customers about price hikes for their products, which are set to come into effect in systems shipped early in 2027.
These developments add to concerns over the sustainability of the AI spending boom, as soaring hardware costs may dampen returns as companies invest even larger sums in the technology.
Apart from the tech sector, oil prices took a hit, falling 1.5% to $93 a barrel ahead of US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's press conference. Bessent's plan to economically isolate Iran was detailed during the conference. Meanwhile, Brent crude prices fell 1.5% to $93 a barrel. Investors were also keeping an eye on Nvidia's earnings and guidance, as well as Bessent's fiscal consolidation plans for Iran, which are expected to be announced on Monday.
Written by urgent.news from The Business Times - Companies & Markets's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
