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Asian technology and semiconductor stocks suffered steep losses on Wednesday as rising global bond yields intensified concerns over expensive AI-related valuations and higher financing costs across the technology sector.
Japan’s SoftBank Group dropped more than 10% following a Nikkei report that the investment giant plans to issue approximately 1 trillion yen ($6.26 billion) in corporate bonds targeting Japanese retail investors. The offering would reportedly become the largest retail corporate bond issuance ever by a Japanese company.
The broader Japanese semiconductor sector also came under heavy selling pressure. Renesas Electronics declined about 9%, while memory chipmaker Kioxia Holdings plunged nearly 13%. The Nikkei 225 closed more than 3% lower, extending losses sparked by the technology-led downturn on Wall Street.
South Korean stocks experienced even sharper declines. The KOSPI sank more than 5%, with semiconductor heavyweight Samsung Electronics falling roughly 7.5% and SK Hynix losing nearly 10%.
Chip stocks in Hong Kong were similarly affected. Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC) declined around 6%, while Hua Hong Semiconductor tumbled nearly 14%.
The Asian technology selloff followed significant weakness among U.S. semiconductor stocks overnight. Nvidia fell 2.3%, Micron Technology dropped about 7%, and SanDisk declined roughly 9%, highlighting increasing investor caution toward companies exposed to the artificial intelligence boom.
Surging government bond yields added to market pressure. The U.S. 30-year Treasury yield briefly reached 5.337%, its highest level since 2007, while the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield hovered near 4.70%. Higher yields can weigh heavily on growth and AI stocks because their valuations often depend on earnings expected far into the future.
Despite continued strong demand for semiconductors, AI computing and data-center infrastructure, the latest market decline underscores how sensitive technology stocks have become to borrowing costs and interest-rate expectations following their substantial rally.
Investors are now closely watching the Federal Reserve’s July meeting minutes for additional signals about the U.S. interest-rate outlook and the potential direction of Treasury yields.
