Asian Tech Stocks Slide Ahead of Key Earnings Week

South Korean and Japanese stocks fell sharply on Tuesday, October 20, despite an overnight rebound in US tech shares, as investors avoided Asia's major AI positions ahead of a key earnings week. The KOSPI dropped 2.36% to 5,631.95, while Japan's Nikkei 225 lost about 0.6% to 64,512. The Korean decline was driven by renewed foreign selling of semiconductor stocks, with SK Hynix falling 3.6% and Samsung Electronics down 1.5%. Japanese losses centered on SoftBank Group, which fell about 3.3%, amid concerns about AI infrastructure financing and profitability timelines. Broader regional weakness included Hong Kong's Hang Seng falling about 1% and Australia's ASX 200 down 0.8%. Brent crude traded near $110 per barrel, while political unrest in France weighed on European sentiment. Analysts noted KOSPI would need to reclaim its 200-day average near 6,410 for a sustained recovery.