Asian Stocks Slide as Weak U.S. Tech Earnings Spark AI Spending Concerns

Asian equity markets slumped on Friday, driven by a global tech selloff sparked by disappointing quarterly results from Alphabet, Amazon, and Intel that fueled doubts over massive artificial intelligence expenditures. South Korea's KOSPI plunged 5.46% and Japan's Nikkei 225 declined up to 2.8%, with chipmakers including SK Hynix, Samsung Electronics, and Tokyo Electron suffering sharp drops. Alphabet shares slid over 12% after Q3 revenue missed forecasts, while Intel dropped over 20% on weak guidance. Meanwhile, the Bank of Japan held its benchmark interest rate steady at 1.25%, a 31-year high.