Asian Stocks Slide Amid AI and Fed Focus

Asian stocks took a dip on Monday as investors kept a close eye on earnings from chip bellwether Nvidia and the US Federal Reserve's annual gathering. The Kospi Index, which is often seen as a benchmark for AI investments, fell by 1.4% with Samsung Electronics leading the losses after announcing plans to return up to 110 trillion won ($80 billion) to investors in 2026.

Nvidia also notified customers about price hikes on systems shipped early 2027, affecting systems with flagship chips Vera Rubin and Grace Blackwell. The increases will depend on the generation of Nvidia chips and memory configurations.

The tech sector remained under scrutiny as Alibaba Group's HK$80 billion ($10.2 billion) share sale aimed to compete for global leadership in AI. SoftBank Group also announced plans for a record 1 trillion yen ($6.3 billion) retail bond offering in Japan.