Asian stocks drop but set for weekly gains

KOSPI edged up 0.5% on Friday to mark a record high of 5,558.82 points, even as broader Asian markets declined

Asian stocks slid on Friday as renewed jitters over artificial intelligence valuations dented risk appetite, although markets were still on course for strong weekly gains.

KOSPI edged up 0.5% on Friday to mark a record high of 5,558.82 points, even as broader Asian markets declined. The benchmark was set for a weekly gain of nearly 9%, supported by heavyweight chipmakers.

Shares of Samsung Electronics have surged almost 15% this week, buoyed by optimism over its next-generation HBM4 high-bandwidth memory production and expanding edge AI opportunities.

Rival SK Hynix Inc was set to climb almost 6% for the week.

Nikkei 225 slid 0.7% on Friday after hitting record highs above 58,000 points in the previous session.

It was on track for a weekly jump of around 6%, aided by renewed trade optimism following the election victory of Sanae Takaichi.

Investors bet that policy continuity and a pro-growth stance would support exporters and manufacturers.

Japan’s broader TOPIX index dropped 1% after hitting record highs in the previous session, on track for 4% weekly advance.

Elsewhere, gains in technology counters and a solid batch of earnings results put markets in China and Australia on course for weekly gains.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 declined 1.3% on Friday, but headed for a 3% weekly rise, boosted by banks’ earnings.

Straits Times Index shed 1% on Friday, while futures tied to Nifty 50 traded flat.

Bucking the larger weekly trend, Hong Kong stocks were set to end the week flat. The Hang Seng index declined 2% on Friday.

In mainland China, the blue-chip Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 shed 0.5%, while Shanghai Composite index dropped 0.7%. Both were set for nearly 1% weekly gain.