Asian stocks fall after Wall Street selloff as oil, AI and tariff worries weigh

Asian markets fell on Friday after a selloff on Wall Street, as investors faced pressure from renewed Middle East hostilities, oil prices above $100, concerns over large artificial intelligence spending and fresh US tariff moves.

Technology shares were among the hardest hit. Investors have grown more concerned about how much companies are spending on AI hardware, factories and research, and when those investments may produce returns. Alphabet fell almost seven percent on Thursday and Tesla dropped more than 14 percent after scrutiny of their capital spending plans. Meta, Microsoft and Amazon have already indicated they will spend more than $700 billion this year on AI plans and are due to report next week.

An index of the Magnificent Seven US technology companies lost almost $800 billion in market value on Thursday, its largest one-day fall since April 2025.

The Wall Street weakness carried into Asia. Seoul fell more than three percent, with Samsung and SK hynix down more than seven percent. Tokyo’s Nikkei was sharply lower, while Kioxia fell almost 10 percent, Advantest lost more than five percent and Tokyo Electron was down almost seven percent. Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Singapore, Taipei and Manila also declined.

Oil prices added to market worries. Brent crude jumped seven percent on Thursday back above $100 after renewed attacks involving Iran and the United States and after Yemen’s Houthi rebels joined the fight with Tehran. Brent was slightly lower on Friday but remained above $100. West Texas Intermediate was also lower.

The report said Iran and the United States had vowed to step up attacks on each other after the Houthis struck Saudi shipping in the Red Sea and declared a blockade of Saudi ports. Saudi Arabia had been using the Red Sea to export oil that would normally move through the Strait of Hormuz, and closure of that route would remove more oil from the market.

Markets were also hit by news that Washington would impose new tariffs of 10 to 12.5 percent on 60 trading partners, including China and India, over forced labour concerns. The administration moved after the Supreme Court struck down several duties in February, and a separate 10 percent tariff authority was set to expire Friday.

Around 0230 GMT, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 was down 2.8 percent at 64,568.75, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was down 1.1 percent at 24,941.37 and Shanghai’s Composite Index was down 0.7 percent at 3,848.17. Brent crude was down 0.6 percent at $100.13 a barrel, and West Texas Intermediate was down 0.6 percent at $91.62. The dollar was at 163.78 yen, down from 163.85 yen. In earlier closes, the Dow was down 1.0 percent at 51,711.65 and London’s FTSE 100 was down 0.7 percent at 10,639.17.