Asian shares plunge as traders sell to lock in profits after recent rallies driven by AI

Asian shares plunged Friday as traders sold to lock in gains after recent rallies driven by artificial intelligence. Losses were led by Japan and South Korea, where volatility returned after record levels this week. The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo fell 4.5% to 69,127.10 and the Kospi dropped 6.8% to 8,323.52, after both indices had recovered part of their earlier declines. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 1.7% to 22,684.76 and the Shanghai Composite fell 1.4% to 4,062.28, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.2% to 8,765.90; Taiwan’s Taiex lost 3.6%. The pullback followed strong moves on Thursday after Qualcomm and Micron Technology posted results above expectations. In South Korea, Samsung Electronics slid 7% and SK Hynix fell 6.6%, reflecting sensitivity to memory-cost and AI-demand assumptions. Tech swings also hit SoftBank Group (-13.4%) and Advantest (-10.8%) in Tokyo. In the U.S., S&P 500 ended nearly flat and the Nasdaq fell 0.5% amid a 6.1% drop in Apple shares after price increases. Micron led U.S. strength after jumping 15.7% on stronger profit and revenue, while Qualcomm raised forecasts for upcoming years.