Emerging Markets-Asian stocks retreat as oil spike compounds tech selloff

South Korean shares bore the brunt of the regional selloff, with the KOSPI .KS11 falling 5.7% by the close after three straight sessions of gains and ending the week 1.9% lower. AI memory maker SK Hynix 000660.KS and rival Samsung Electronics 005930.KS fell 8.3% and 7.4% respectively.

Taiwan stocks .TWII lost 2.7% at close, though they were still up 2.3% on the week.

"Concerns over whether hyperscalers can justify massive AI capex are weighing directly on Korea's memory makers and Taiwan's chip supply chain," said Glenn Yin, director of research at ACCM, brief description of what ACCM is.

"Korea is probably the most exposed because it sits at the intersection of both risks: semiconductors dominate exports while the economy is highly dependent on imported energy."