Asian Stocks Fall to 3-Month Low as Tech Selloff, Gulf Tensions Weigh on Markets

Asian equities fell Thursday, with the MSCI Asia-Pacific ex-Japan index dropping 1.8% to a near three-month low and heading for a fourth straight weekly decline, as technology shares led a broad selloff amid concerns over AI spending costs and escalating Gulf tensions. Japan's Nikkei fell 2%, Korea's Kospi tumbled more than 4%, China's CSI300 lost 2% to the brink of a technical bear market, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped over 3%. Regional tech leaders bore the brunt: Tokyo Electron fell over 6%, SK Hynix 5.7%, Samsung 4.2%, and Alibaba 6.5% in Hong Kong. Brent crude rose more than 2% to $111.03 a barrel, near a five-month high, following further Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia. The 10-year Treasury yield fell nearly 6 basis points to 5.0857%. Bitcoin dropped 2.2% to $82,771.05.