HONG KONG - Asian tech stocks sank again on Friday as the rollercoaster ride that has characterised the week continued into the weekend, while crude prices edged back down after a brief rally sparked by news of an attack on a ship in the Strait of Hormuz.
Seoul and Tokyo took the brunt of the selling, tracking heavy losses on Wall Street where Apple led Magnificent Seven titans lower after announcing price hikes for laptops, tablets and other products, citing rising costs.
The news caused a reverse on the Nasdaq and S&P 500, which had been boosted early on by blowout results from chip company Micron.
Amazon and Microsoft added to the downbeat mood after the European Union said they should face tougher digital competition rules because of their dominant position in cloud computing.
The tech sector has been the main driver of a surge to record highs across several markets globally amid an eye-watering boom in all things AI.
However, that euphoria appears to be waning of late, with company valuations looking stretched and traders questioning when firms will see a return on the trillions that has been invested.
- AFP