Asian markets plunge as tech fears and Fed uncertainty hit Kospi and Nikkei

Asian markets plunged Thursday, with South Korea's Kospi falling 7% and Japan's Nikkei dropping 4%, driven by renewed fears over the technology sector and uncertainty about the US Federal Reserve's next interest rate move. The selloff intensified following worse-than-expected US inflation data, raising expectations of further monetary tightening at the Fed's October meeting. The wave of selling in tech hardware stocks followed Wall Street's lead, where the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.88% on Wednesday, its worst day since July 23.