TECH STOCKS TUMBLE ACROSS ASIA AFTER AI BOSSES CALL FOR SLOWDOWN

Tech stocks fell across Asian markets on Monday and US futures pointed lower after AI industry leaders called for slower development, citing safety concerns. SoftBank, an OpenAI investor, fell as much as 13 per cent in Tokyo, while Kioxia dropped as much as 9.8 per cent. SK Hynix fell more than five per cent, Samsung Electronics dropped nearly four per cent and TSMC fell 1.2 per cent. The falls followed a weekend statement from Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei, who called for AI firms to slow down, backed by OpenAI's Sam Altman and Elon Musk.

US futures also fell, with Nasdaq 100 futures down around 1.3 per cent, S&P 500 futures down 0.6 per cent and Dow futures down 0.1 per cent, one report said. Chris Beauchamp of IG said the rush to develop AI "seems to have stopped in its tracks." He warned this could slow data centre building or lower chip demand, undermining major technology stocks. Samsung and SK Hynix are planning more than $500bn for a new chipmaking hub in South Korea, while Kioxia and Sandisk are investing over $31bn to expand memory chip supply.

Investors have grown sensitive to signs that AI spending could slow, the report said, as valuations have climbed amid rapid expansion of data centre and chip capacity. Charu Chanana of Saxo Markets said AI valuations assume not only strong demand but also a continuous pace of model development. Tech stocks have driven much of the rise in global markets, the report said, as companies invest hundreds of billions of dollars in data centres and AI models. The report gave no timetable for any change.