TOKYO: World shares were mixed while South Korea's Kospi stock index dropped 6 per cent Wednesday as doubts over massive investments in artificial intelligence once again led investors to dump chipmakers' shares.
In early European trading, Germany's DAX lost 0.4 per cent to 25,357.69, while the CAC 40 in Paris skidded 0.8 per cent to 8,395.21. Britain's FTSE 100 edged 0.1 per cent lower to 10,865.48.
The future for the S&P 500 gained 0.2 per cent while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed.
The latest rout in Seoul was led by a plunge in shares in chipmaker SK Hynix after its operating profit in the last quarter fell short of analysts' forecasts even though it soared nearly sixfold.
The Kospi fell more than 8 per cent earlier in the day, but closed 6 per cent lower, at 5,663.24. The benchmark only recently had topped 9,000 before bouncing back down to its lowest level since early April.
SK Hynix sank 9.4 per cent while shares in Samsung Electronics dropped 4.8 per cent.
Markets have been stricken by spates of selling of AI-related stocks as investors react to various developments including progress in China toward cheaper, advanced AI models.
Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 lost 1.5 per cent to 61,434.19, giving up early gains. Shares in chipmaking equipment maker Tokyo Electron sank 10.6 per cent and chip measuring and inspection systems maker Lasertec Corp. fell 8.3 per cent.
Japanese stocks were mixed in their reaction to a major earthquake that rattled the southern Kyushu region a day earlier. A previous earthquake in the region caused severe damage and disruptions for automakers and other manufacturers.
Shares in Nippon Paper, owner of a mill in the disaster zone that was severely damaged by Tuesday's quake, fell 2.1 per cent.
Taiwan's Taiex shed 3.8 per cent.
The Shanghai Composite index reversed early losses to pick up 0.4 per cent. It closed at 3,830.02.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 2 per cent to 25,807.92.
In Australia the S&P/ASX 200 added 1 per cent to 9,038.60 after the government reported that inflation has remained moderate, relieving pressure on the central bank to raise interest rates.
India's Sensex added 1.1 per cent.
In other trading, oil prices that had eased from the two-month high that they hit last week rebounded as a brief pause in fighting in the Iran war was shattered. Jordan's air defences intercepted five missiles launched from Iran early Wednesday, the country's military said, hours after the US military said it had knocked down an Iranian missile barrage launched against American forces in the Middle East.
The calm persisted for about three days following weeks of escalation over the strategic Strait of Hormuz, the Persian Gulf waterway and narrow chokepoint through which 20 per cent of the world's traded oil normally flows.
Brent crude, the international standard, jumped 3.3 per cent to USD 84.77 a barrel.
Benchmark US crude gained 3.4 per cent to USD 81.93 a barrel.
On Tuesday, shares were mixed on Wall Street.
The S&P 500 added 0.2 per cent and the Dow industrials jumped 1 per cent. The Nasdaq composite slipped 0.2 per cent.
The majority of US stocks rose after more companies delivered stronger profits for the spring than analysts expected. Coca-Cola climbed 5 per cent after its revenue rose 7 per cent.
Expectations for stellar earnings reports are weighing particularly heavily on stocks of chipmakers and other companies that have been huge winners from the boom in artificial-intelligence technology.
Micron Technology's stock came into the day having more than tripled for the year following gangbuster growth, but its shares sank 8.9 per cent.
Other tech companies helping to keep the market in check were Advanced Micro Devices, down 8.1 per cent, and Applied Materials, down 7.8 per cent.
In currency trading early Wednesday, the US dollar slipped to 163.54 Japanese yen from 163.81 yen. The euro cost USD 1.1395, up from USD 1.1391.