STI drops as much as 1.7% as Asia markets hit by tech sell-off

[SINGAPORE] A rotation out of tech stocks led to a sea of red across markets in Asia on Monday (Jun 8), with the Straits Times Index (STI) falling as much as 1.7 per cent.

The benchmark index in Singapore fell as low as 4,966.54 points within minutes of market open, with chip stocks such as UMS Integration, CSE Global and AEM faring the worst.

Fears of the artificial intelligence rally overheating have seen tech stocks take a hit globally, with even US-listed firms affected on Friday on concerns of a possible US Federal Reserve interest rate hike.

In Asia, Korea was one of the worst hit after a searing tech stock rally in the year to date. Its benchmark Kospi fall as much as 8.8 per cent, triggering a 20-minute circuit breaker, following a 5.5 per cent drop as at close on Friday.

Japan’s tech-heavy Nikkei 225 fell more than 4 per cent, while the broader Topix was down nearly 3 per cent.