Global stocks fell, but Hong Kong shares inched up on Monday as investors grappled with concerns over a fresh escalation in the Middle East conflict and valuations in AI-related stocks.
South Korea's formerly red-hot KOSPI sank nearly 9 percent, having already lost almost 8 percent last week, as leveraged bets on semiconductor shares came under pressure. The market has emerged as a key global barometer for chip-sector sentiment and further losses could ripple out more broadly.
South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix shares fell more than 15 percent in Seoul on Monday, its biggest one-day decline in nearly two decades, as investors in Seoul cashed out of a scorching share price rally following its Nasdaq debut last week.
The company's US-listed shares dropped 9.2 percent to US$152.50 in premarket trading on Monday after jumping more than 12 percent in its Nasdaq debut on Friday.
Nasdaq futures dropped 1.20 percent and S&P 500 futures were down 0.40 percent. Japan's Nikkei fell 1.9 percent.
MSCI's main world stocks index fell 0.38 percent. Europe's STOXX 600 was down 0.12 percent, with tech stocks falling 1.1 percent.
In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng Index rose 38 points, or 0.2 percent, to 24,213 points at the close.
The market turnover was HK$309.5 billion.
The Hang Seng Tech Index, however, declined by 1 percent to 4,676 points, led by a 17 percent slump in AI startup MiniMax (0100).
Semiconductor shares also performed poorly, with Hua Hong Grace Semiconductor (1347) down over 7 percent and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (0981) down 1.6 percent.
In the mainland, the Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index was down by 2 percent to 3,913 points and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange Component Index plunged by 3.5 percent to 14,522 points.
Reuters and staff reporter
