Session at a Glance

KOSPI crashes 4.6% as SK Hynix leads brutal chip selloff on AI spending fears.

Seoul bore the brunt of a global semiconductor rout, with KOSPI plunging 4.6% as SK Hynix collapsed over 10% and Samsung shed 6% on deepening concerns that AI infrastructure spending may be peaking faster than expected. Tokyo Electron dragged the Nikkei lower in sympathy, while Taiwan’s TAIEX slipped despite Foxconn posting record July revenue. Risk-off sentiment ahead of Friday’s US nonfarm payrolls compounded the selling.

China and Australia bucked the trend. The Shanghai Composite gained 0.6% as mainland banks firmed, though CATL fell sharply on margin pressure. The ASX rose 0.5%, buoyed by gold miners riding spot gold above US$4,190. Singapore’s Straits Times added 1% as DBS reported Q2 earnings.

A policy shock rattled Hong Kong insurers — reports that Beijing is taxing returns on offshore insurance policies at 20% sent Prudential down nearly 6%, highlighting a distinct China-regulation risk layered on top of the tech selloff.

Here are the standout movers across Asia-Pacific’s major exchanges for the session of Thursday, August 6, grouped by market.

Australia (ASX)

↑ NST +3.26%

Mid-cap · 22.19 (local)

Why: Gold miners rallied as spot gold held above US$4,190 amid risk-off flows from the global tech selloff and geopolitical uncertainty — Northern Star also recently highlighted record mining volumes at KCGM.

Pattern: Textbook risk-off rotation into gold equities — when chip stocks sell off hard and payrolls loom, safe-haven flows lift the entire gold complex. Momentum continuation if gold stays bid.

↓ TCL -0.75%

Mid-cap · 14.59 (local)

Why: No clear catalyst for Transurban’s modest decline — likely reflects broader risk repricing in rate-sensitive infrastructure names ahead of US payrolls data on Friday.

Pattern: Small down-move in a defensive yield stock during a risk-off session — noise rather than signal. Watch for bond yield direction post-payrolls to determine if this becomes a trend.

Hong Kong (HKEX)

↑ 0939 +0.68%

Large-cap · 8.86 (local)

Why: China Construction Bank edged higher as mainland state-owned banks firmed with the broader Shanghai rally, benefiting from steady policy support expectations and defensive positioning during the tech rout.

Pattern: Relative strength in Chinese state banks during a risk-off day is a classic defensive rotation pattern — investors hiding in high-dividend, low-beta SOE names. Not a breakout signal.

↓ 1299 -5.92%

Large-cap · 73.15 (local)

Why: Prudential tumbled after reports that Beijing began taxing returns on Hong Kong offshore insurance policies at a flat 20% rate — Hong Kong generates 54% of Prudential’s new business profit, with 17% from mainland Chinese customers.

Pattern: Regulatory shock catalyst driving a gap-down — this is event risk, not a technical pattern. Trend depends on whether the tax enforcement expands beyond Beijing and Hangzhou. Watch for follow-through selling.

China — Shanghai (SSE)

↑ 601988 +1.05%

Mid-cap · 5.79 (local)

Why: Bank of China gained modestly as Chinese state-owned banks attracted defensive flows during the regional tech selloff — Shanghai’s broader composite finished up 0.6% as financials and utilities led.

Pattern: Low-volatility SOE bank grinding higher in a risk-off environment — sector rotation into yield and stability. Not a momentum setup; this is portfolio rebalancing into defensives.

↓ 601318 -0.96%

Large-cap · 53.5 (local)

Why: Ping An Insurance dipped as the China offshore insurance tax report from Beijing weighed on the broader insurance sector — though Ping An’s direct exposure to Hong Kong offshore policies is lower than Prudential’s, sentiment contagion hit the group.

Pattern: Sympathy move from the Prudential-led insurance selloff in Hong Kong — sector-wide contagion rather than company-specific. Mean-reversion candidate if Ping An’s domestic business proves insulated.

China — Shenzhen (SZSE)

↑ 000001 +0.18%

Mid-cap · 11.27 (local)

Why: Ping An Bank posted a marginal gain, tracking the broader Shanghai financial sector strength — no company-specific catalyst, just steady positioning in line with the defensive rotation into mainland banks.

Pattern: Flat session in a low-volatility name — essentially noise within a broader market that split between defensive financials (up) and growth/tech (down). No actionable pattern.

↓ 300750 -4.24%

Mega-cap · 388 (local)

Why: CATL fell sharply as investors continue digesting Q2 results showing margin compression despite strong revenue growth — gross margins disappointed expectations amid rising sodium-ion battery production costs and pricing pressure.

Pattern: Post-earnings margin disappointment driving a continuation sell — this fits a negative revision cycle where strong top-line growth isn’t translating to bottom-line beats. Watch for stabilisation around the 16x P/E floor.

Japan (TSE)

↑ 7974 +2.87%

Mega-cap · 7641 (local)

Why: Nintendo jumped after reporting a surge in profit driven by Switch 2 popularity — annual playing users exceeded 100 million and hardware sell-through surpassed the original Switch’s first full year.

Pattern: Earnings-driven gap-up in a consumer name while the rest of the Nikkei sold off — classic company-specific catalyst overriding sector sentiment. Relative strength during a down-tape day is a bullish signal.

↓ 8035 -5.50%

Mid-cap · 5.533e+04 (local)

Why: Tokyo Electron dropped 5.5% caught in the global semiconductor equipment selloff — despite posting solid fiscal Q1 results recently, sentiment on chip capex durability is souring as investors question AI spending payback timelines.

Pattern: High-beta chip equipment name tracking the SK Hynix/Samsung selloff — this is sector contagion, not a company-specific miss. The stock has already shed 30% over 30 days, approaching oversold territory on the weekly.

Singapore (SGX)

↑ D05 +2.58%

Mega-cap · 75.45 (local)

Why: DBS rallied 2.6% as the bank reported Q2 2026 earnings — Singapore’s largest bank by assets continues to benefit from strong wealth management flows, with AUM reaching SGD 492 billion.

Pattern: Earnings-day strength in ASEAN’s largest bank — defensive bid in financials mirrors the rotation visible across the region. Momentum continuation if results beat consensus expectations.

↓ A17U -1.95%

Mid-cap · 2.52 (local)

Why: CapitaLand Ascendas REIT declined nearly 2% — no specific headline, but rate-sensitive REITs underperformed as US Treasury yields firmed ahead of payrolls data, weighing on the Singapore REIT sector.

Pattern: Yield-sensitive REIT selling off into a rates-uncertain macro event — a common pre-payrolls pattern. Mean-reversion candidate if Friday’s jobs data comes in soft and yields retreat.

South Korea (KOSPI)

↑ 051910 +2.15%

Large-cap · 2.61e+05 (local)

Why: LG Chem bucked the KOSPI rout with a 2.2% gain — as the parent of LG Energy Solution, the stock may be attracting defensive interest within Korea’s battery value chain amid relative insulation from the AI chip narrative.

Pattern: Relative outperformance on a -4.6% KOSPI day is notable — suggests sector rotation away from semiconductors into battery/chemicals. Contrarian strength worth watching if KOSPI stabilises.

↓ 000660 -10.37%

Large-cap · 1.495e+06 (local)

Why: SK Hynix plunged over 10% as the global chip selloff intensified — the HBM memory leader has lost significant market cap amid fears that AI infrastructure spending is peaking, even as it trades under 4x forward earnings.

Pattern: High-conviction AI-cycle name in a sector-wide capitulation — the stock is now deeply oversold by most momentum indicators. Historically these sharp selloffs in cycle leaders resolve either in a sharp bounce or a prolonged base-build. Valuation is extreme.

Taiwan (TWSE)

↑ 2317 +2.32%

Large-cap · 264.5 (local)

Why: Hon Hai (Foxconn) gained 2.3% after reporting record July revenue of T$946.5 billion, up 54% year-on-year, driven by surging AI server and cloud networking product demand — all four business segments showed strong growth.

Pattern: Fundamental catalyst (record revenue) driving relative strength while the broader tech tape sold off — this divergence from chip names suggests the market is rewarding AI hardware execution over AI capex doubts. Momentum continuation setup.

↓ 2454 -2.00%

Large-cap · 3920 (local)

Why: MediaTek fell 2% in sympathy with the broader semiconductor selloff — no company-specific headline, but the chipmaker’s exposure to mobile and edge AI demand leaves it correlated with global chip sentiment.

Pattern: Sector contagion drag on a fabless chip designer — smaller move than SK Hynix or Tokyo Electron suggests relative resilience. Watch whether MediaTek holds its 50-day moving average as a support test.

India (NSE)

↑ RELIANCE +3.09%

Mega-cap · 1320 (local)

Why: Reliance Industries rallied 3% after its luxury retail arm announced a partnership to bring Kim Kardashian’s SKIMS brand to India — the deal reinforces Reliance Brands’ premium positioning in one of the fastest-growing consumer markets.

Pattern: Catalyst-driven strength in India’s largest conglomerate on a relatively flat Nifty day — the SKIMS partnership is incremental but signals continued retail expansion. Breakout watch if the stock clears recent resistance.

↓ TCS -0.94%

Mega-cap · 2390 (local)

Why: TCS dipped marginally with no specific headline — India’s IT services sector tends to track US tech sentiment, and the global chip selloff created a cautious undertone for technology-adjacent names despite limited direct exposure.

Pattern: Mild sympathy weakness in an IT services bellwether — less than 1% move is noise rather than a trend signal. TCS typically mean-reverts quickly from sentiment-driven dips given its defensive earnings profile.

New Zealand (NZX)

↓ FPH -1.61%

Large-cap · 42.3 (local)

Why: Fisher & Paykel Healthcare fell 1.6% with no clear catalyst — the med-tech name may be seeing profit-taking after recent strength, or reflecting broader risk-off sentiment filtering into small-market defensives.

Pattern: Low-volume decline in a growth-at-a-premium healthcare name — NZX is often a liquidity afterthought during global risk-off days. Check whether this is part of a multi-day pullback or isolated session weakness.

Reading the Session

The exchange-by-exchange breakdown above surfaces both market-specific catalysts and cross-border themes. When multiple exchanges move together, look for a macro driver (USD move, commodity price, risk-on/off shift). Isolated single-exchange moves tend to reflect local earnings, regulatory news, or sector rotation.

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