Asian technology stocks tumbled Friday, tracking a sharp sell-off

Asian technology stocks tumbled Friday, tracking a sharp sell-off on Wall Street overnight that sent the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite into correction territory as renewed concerns over artificial intelligence spending rattled investor sentiment. South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix plunged over 8%, while Samsung Electronics shed 7%. LG Innotek and LG Display fell 10% and 7.7%, respectively, as selling pressure spread across the country's technology sector. The rout came as investors worried that Democrats' sweeping victory in the U.S. midterm elections could lead to tighter restrictions on data-center development, potentially slowing demand for AI chips and related infrastructure. In Japan, semiconductor-related stocks also fell, with chip-testing equipment maker Advantest plunging 12.2%, while Tokyo Electron slid 7.3%. Technology investment giant SoftBank Group tumbled 11.6%.