AI Trade Slumps as KOSPI Leads Asian Stocks Lower; Yen and Treasuries Become Havens

South Korea's KOSPI, seen as a bellwether for the artificial intelligence trade, fell 1.8% Friday morning and was heading for a fourth straight weekly decline as chip heavyweights tracked Wall Street's selloff. The index slid as much as 3.1% intraday, and the MSCI Asia-Pacific index fell for a second day toward its lowest level since July. Nasdaq 100 futures slipped 0.1%. Samsung Electronics dropped more than 2% and SK Hynix plunged 8% after scrapping Solidigm's U.S. IPO and seeking alternative funding for its American plant. Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 1.3%, or 854 points, while Taiwan's market was closed for a typhoon. Investors sought havens in bonds and the yen. The 10-year Treasury yield stood at 4.96% after U.S. Treasuries posted their biggest rally in more than two years on Thursday, with Japanese and Australian bonds also gaining. The yen strengthened 0.4% to 156.20 in Asian trading. The KOSPI has lost about 20% in October, the worst performance among major global markets, on doubts over the durability of large-scale AI spending and rising borrowing costs. Investor deposits at Korean brokerages have fallen below 90 trillion won ($67.9 billion) for the first time since January, signaling limited retail support, traders said.