Asian Stocks Plunge Amid Tech Declines and Jobs Report Jitters

Asian stocks took a hit on Thursday as South Korea's Kospi plummeted more than 4% following declines in tech giants, including memory chipmaker SK Hynix. The company lost 9.7% after dropping ahead of the open in Seoul.

The losses were led by computer chipmakers and other companies related to the artificial intelligence boom, with Samsung Electronics falling 6.1%. Japan's Nikkei 225 dropped 1.2%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng declined 1.8%.

The Shanghai Composite index was nearly unchanged at 3,878.92. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.5%. The decline comes as markets await the release of July's US jobs report on Friday, which analysts say could have a significant impact on investors' decisions.