Investing.com — Asian technology stocks fell on Monday as Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh’s hawkish comments revived expectations of a September rate hike, while renewed U.S.-Iran fighting pushed oil prices higher and added to the risk-off tone.
South Korea’s fell 2.1%, while Japan’s dropped 1.7% and the broader slipped 0.7%.
The technology-heavy retreat came as investors reassessed the outlook for borrowing costs after Warsh said the Fed would have “work to do” if it was not confident that underlying inflation was returning to its 2% target.
Markets now see a 57% probability of a September rate increase, up from roughly 35% before his Jackson Hole speech, while the climbed to a one-month high near 4.33%.
That shift is particularly significant for Asian technology shares, which had already been volatile after last week’s results.
While the chipmaker’s outlook showed that AI infrastructure demand remains strong, investors have remained sensitive to elevated valuations and financing costs. Higher short-term yields increase the discount rate applied to future earnings, putting renewed pressure on growth and technology stocks.
U.S. equity futures also reflected the more cautious tone, with down 0.6% and S&P 500 Futures down 0.4% in Asian trade.
South Korean technology stocks bore the brunt of the selling. fell 3.5% to 1.595 million won, while dropped 2.5% to 250,500 won.
SK Hynix is also in focus after reports that it is considering outsourcing part of the base-die production for next-generation HBM4E to Intel Foundry, potentially alongside its existing reliance on .
TSMC fell 1.7% on Monday, while the broader Taiex index dropped about 1.9%. TSMC is now down nearly 2% this month even as the Taiex remains about 5.6% higher in August.
SK Hynix and Samsung remain among the clearest Asian beneficiaries of Nvidia’s AI infrastructure cycle through their exposure to high-bandwidth memory. But the same stocks are also highly sensitive to shifts in rates and risk appetite after their recent rebound.
The latest declines leave SK Hynix down about 7.2% so far this month and Samsung down 4.6%, despite the strong Nvidia-driven recovery seen earlier in August.
Japan’s rose 1.1%, gained 0.8% and climbed 3.3%, while fell 2.3% and dropped 4.1%. TDK is still up about 1% this month, despite Monday’s decline.
has gained nearly 19% this month, while the latest weakness in some of the region’s chip names highlights how uneven the post-Nvidia reaction has become. is up nearly 10% this month.
China and Hong Kong added to the broader risk-off tone. The fell 0.8%, while the declined 0.9% and the lost 0.3%.
Among major technology names, and each fell more than 2%, while , and dropped more than 1%. lost about 1% and fell around 1.5%.
The monthly picture is also showing some pressure in Chinese technology, with Xiaomi down more than 4% in August, Alibaba off about 3.6% and Tencent lower by roughly 5.6%.
Attention now shifts to upcoming U.S. labor-market and inflation data, which could determine whether the rise in September Fed hike expectations following Warsh’s remarks is sustained.