Corrected: EMERGING MARKETS-Tech rout batters South Korean, Taiwan equities; Singapore stocks hit record high

United Overseas Bank

29/07/2026 08:32

Corrects paragraph four to say KOSPI losses are for July, not for June
KOSPI eyes worst month to date
Singapore stocks notch fresh record
Taiwan dollar pares losses to trade flat
By Sneha  Kumar and Nikita Maria Jino
July 29 (Reuters) - South Korean and Taiwanese stock markets continued to be battered by AI-related worries on Wednesday, while Singapore equities soared to an all-time high as investors sought alternatives to the volatile tech sector.
South Korea's KOSPI .KS11 slipped as much as 12.6% before paring losses to close about 6% down, while Taiwan's benchmark index .TWII ended 3.8% lower at its weakest level since mid-May. 
Investors have retreated from Asian chipmakers over the last few sessions on artificial intelligence worries, leaving the biggest winners of this year's tech boom struggling to hold on to their strong gains.    
South Korean equities have shed more than 16% over the last two sessions, bringing their July losses so far to around 33.2%. This is their worst monthly performance ever. 
Volumes on the South Korean bourse were relatively low, signalling that buyers are shunning the market, a stark contrast to the recent retail frenzy to lock in profits from the AI boom.   
SK Hynix 000660.KS reported a six-fold jump in quarterly earnings but fell short of lofty investor expectations, sending shares scuttling 9.6% to a three-month closing low.
A 5% drop in Samsung Electronics 005930.KS also weighed on the Seoul benchmark. Both stocks account for more than half of KOSPI's market capitalisation.
Elsewhere, stocks in Singapore .STI surged more than 1% to a record high of 5,696.65 points, boosted by a 1% to 2% rise in major lenders DBS DBSM.SI, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp OCBC.SI and United Overseas Bank UOBH.SI.    
The head of the city-state's central bank said on Tuesday that Singapore's economic growth should remain firm in the second half of this year, although a major uncertainty is the sustainability of the AI investment boom.  
The FTSE Straits Times Index has emerged as one of the best-performing markets in emerging Asia this year and is on track for its best monthly showing since November 2020.
Philippine shares .PSI rose as much as 2.1% to hit a one-week high. 
The move in Manila equities may partly reflect some rotation out of crowded AI-related positions into less-owned markets, considering the market has often been viewed as a potential AI disruption risk because of its large business process outsourcing sector, said Gary Tan, portfolio manager at Allspring Global Investments.
Among regional currencies, the Taiwan dollar TWD=TP recouped early weakness to turn flat, while the Indonesian rupiah IDR= briefly slipped below 18,100 to the dollar, having been hurt by the surprise resignation of the country's central bank governor earlier this week
Looking ahead, traders will be monitoring the U.S. Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision due on Wednesday, with markets pricing in a near 30% probability for a 25 bps rate hike. 0#USDIRPR
Markets in Thailand were closed for a holiday.

     
HIGHLIGHTS:    
** Indian stocks gain as AI insulation shields market from Asia chip rout
** Bank Indonesia committed to furthering efforts to strengthen rupiah 
** South Korean finance minister apologises for single-stock leveraged ETFs
** Chinese chipmaker CXMT Corp 688825.SS surges more than 12% on Wednesday

     
Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0717 GMT
COUNTRY
FX RIC
FX DAILY %
FX YTD %
INDEX
STOCKS DAILY %
STOCKS YTD %
Japan
JPY=
+0.18
-4.20
.N225
-1.49
22.04
China
CNY=CFXS
+0.05
+3.26
.SSEC
0.40
-3.54
India
INR=IN
+0.25
-6.00
.NSEI
0.99
-7.30
Indonesia
IDR=
-0.03
-7.70
.JKSE
-0.49
-29.45
Malaysia
MYR=
+0.10
-0.71
.KLSE
0.03
1.95
Philippines
PHP=
+0.16
-4.15
.PSI
0.78
4.96
S.Korea
KRW=KFTC
+0.39
-0.61
.KS11
-5.98
34.39
Singapore
SGD=
+0.08
-0.45
.STI
1.34
22.49
Taiwan
TWD=TP
+0.03
-2.89
.TWII
-3.76
38.24
Thailand
THB=TH
+0.22
-6.06
.SETI
-
28.96
     

 (Reporting by Sneha Kumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Lincoln Feast and Nivedita Bhattacharjee)
 ((Sneha.kumar@thomsonreuters.com))