Asian stocks mixed as Wall Street losses cool tech rally; KOSPI hits record

Asian equity markets were mixed on Wednesday, with South Korean stocks climbing to a record high, though broader gains were limited as a rally in technology shares lost momentum following a weaker close on Wall Street.

U.S. markets finished lower overnight, led by declines in the technology sector as concerns resurfaced over potential disruption stemming from the rapid pace of advancements in artificial intelligence.

The Nasdaq underperformed broader market indexes, as investors adopted a cautious stance ahead of key earnings reports from major U.S. technology companies.

Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL) is set to release its results later on Wednesday, followed by Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) on Thursday, with both reports expected to serve as important gauges of demand for advertising, cloud services, and AI-related spending.

Asian stocks mixed as South Korea’s KOSPI hits record high

Asian markets were coming off a strong previous session, when equities rallied broadly across the region.

South Korea’s KOSPI climbed nearly 1% on Wednesday to a record high of 5,361.85 points, after surging almost 7% the day before on strong gains in heavyweight chipmakers and technology stocks.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.7% following a roughly 4% advance in the prior session.

Sentiment toward artificial intelligence remained volatile, as overnight declines in U.S. technology shares weighed on regional peers and triggered some profit-taking after recent sharp rallies.

Elsewhere in the region, China’s Shanghai Composite edged up 0.1%, while the blue-chip CSI 300 slipped 0.2%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.5%.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.5%, Singapore’s Straits Times Index was flat, and futures for India’s Nifty 50 ticked higher. The Nifty surged nearly 3% on Tuesday after the U.S. signed a trade agreement with India that sharply reduced tariffs.

Fed overhaul concerns persist as China services PMI comes into focus

Investors also remained cautious over President Donald Trump’s nomination of former Federal Reserve governor Kevin Warsh as the next Fed chair.

Warsh is widely regarded as having a hawkish policy stance, fueling concerns that U.S. interest rates may stay higher for longer.

In China, a private-sector survey released on Wednesday showed that the services sector expanded in January at its fastest pace in three months.

While the data provided some reassurance about underlying demand in the world’s second-largest economy, investor sentiment remained restrained amid ongoing concerns about uneven growth and subdued consumer confidence.

Sources: Ayushman Ojha