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

The Kospi sinks 8.8% led by steep losses in chipmakers

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Shikhar Gupta

Published Mon, Jun 8, 2026 · 09:49 AM

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Fears of the AI rally overheating have seen tech stocks take a hit globally. PHOTO: BT FILE

[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 being some of the worst ones affected.

UMS supplies semiconductor toolmaker Applied Materials, while CSE is a data centre partner with Amazon and AEM supplies American chip giant Intel.

Shares of small-cap star Asti also took a tumble, falling as much as 10.6 per cent.

Frencken , also a semiconductor manufacturer, was less hit than most, owing to its more diversified business units that include the medical devices, life sciences and automotive sectors.

Even bank stocks were not spared, with DBS , OCBC and UOB all down on Monday morning.

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A sign showing the exchange rates of the won against other currencies. The South Korean currency has fallen more than 7.5% this year.

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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, South 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.

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