South Korean and Taiwanese stocks fell as disappointing technology earnings accelerated a pullback in AI-linked shares, while Indonesia’s Jakarta index was on track for an 18% monthly loss, its worst since October 2008.
South Korea’s KOSPI fell 4.5% and Taiwan’s benchmark dropped 2.5% on Friday, while Samsung Electronics lost 5.2% and SK Hynix fell 7.4%. Samsung had reported a 15-fold jump in quarterly chip profit but offered no new shareholder-return measures and gave an outlook that disappointed investors.
Indonesia’s Jakarta benchmark fell more than 2% and was on course for a nearly 18% monthly loss, its worst showing since October 2008. MSCI’s warning that Indonesia could be removed from a suite of indexes tracked by investors prompted officials to roll out support measures after a record two-day selloff. The country’s 10-year bond yield stood at 7.643%, near Thursday’s six-year high of 7.707%.
The South Korean won rose to 1,336.23 per dollar and was on track for a fourth monthly gain, while the Malaysian ringgit strengthened to 4.046 per dollar. The Bank of Japan held rates steady but signalled vigilance against inflation risks, suggesting scope for a December rate hike.
