Asian Shares Mixed as AI Worries Deepen; Nikkei Drops 2.6%, Kospi Slides 5.4%

Asian shares traded mixed early Friday as concerns over the future of artificial intelligence mounted following a steep selloff in Alphabet shares that weighed on U.S. markets. Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 2.6% to 62,960.60 as the Bank of Japan wrapped up a two-day policy meeting, with most analysts expecting no change after last month's rate hike to 1.25%. South Korea's Kospi dropped 5.4% to 5,618.76, pressured by declines in SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics. Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 1.2% to 23,225.69, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 added 0.5% to 8,937.60, and the Shanghai Composite lost 0.9% to 3,618.14. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 fell 0.3% to 7,720.39 for its first loss in four days, the Nasdaq dropped 1.4% to 26,184.72, and the Dow lost 132.54 points to 52,342.56. Alphabet Class A shares plunged 12.6%. The 10-year Treasury yield fell to 4.94%, U.S. crude rose 2.80% to $104.86 a barrel, and Brent gained 2.54% to $117.80.