Asian markets retreated on Tuesday, with South Korea's Kospi plunging 7.6% to 7,444.13 despite a rebound in AI stocks that lifted Wall Street overnight. Shares of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix both slumped 8.7%, even after Samsung reported a 19-fold surge in operating income to 89.4 trillion won in the last quarter. The sell-off highlights growing skepticism over AI valuations, with analysts questioning whether massive investments in chips and data centers will yield sufficient returns. SK Hynix is set to test investor appetite further this week with a planned $28 billion share sale on the Nasdaq, which would be one of the largest U.S. offerings ever. Other regional indexes also fell, with Tokyo's Nikkei 225 down 1.8% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng down 0.4%.
Samsung Electronics Co Ltd
Apple Inc.
SK Hynix Inc
Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc