Asian Markets Slide as Semiconductor Profit-Taking Outweighs TSMC Gains

The regional downturn saw South Korea’s KOSPI tumble 6.2 percent, driven by heavy losses in heavyweights Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. Japan’s Nikkei shed 3 percent, while MSCI’s broad Asia Pacific index outside Japan dipped 1 percent. Only Hong Kong’s Hang Seng bucked the trend, managing a 1.8 percent gain. Analysts attribute this cooling to exhausted market optimism: investors have already priced in the sector’s aggressive growth, leaving little room for positive surprises even after strong guidance from firms like ASML.

While equity markets struggled, fixed-income sentiment improved on the back of cooling U.S. inflation. June producer price data suggests inflationary pressures are moderating, slashing the implied probability of a July Federal Reserve rate hike to roughly 10 percent, down from 40 percent earlier this month. This shift provided a floor for bond markets, though volatility remains high elsewhere. Crude oil prices retreated slightly to $84.50 per barrel following U.S. military strikes on Iranian targets, yet the commodity remains 11 percent higher for the week as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East keep energy supplies in the crosshairs.