Asia stocks drop, with Japan and South Korea leading losses

Nikkei 225 index slipped around 2%, the KOSPI dropped 1.1%, S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.7%, while Nifty 50 gained 0.4%

Most Asian stock markets dropped on Monday, with Japan and South Korea leading losses on Wall Street tech weakness, while Hong Kong climbed after a private survey showed Chinese factory activity rebounding.

The slide followed Friday’s losses on Wall Street, where tech-heavy sectors underperformed, prompting a regional sell-off in Asian tech-linked equities.

Investors remained cautious ahead of upcoming U.S. labour and macroeconomic data, alongside ongoing trade and tariff-related uncertainties.

U.S. stock index futures edged higher in Asia hours on Monday.

Nikkei 225 index slipped around 2% in early trade, weighed down by declines in heavyweight exporters and tech-related names.

Advantest Corp. shares slumped more than 9%, while SoftBank Group stock dropped nearly 7%.

The broader TOPIX index traded 0.8% lower.

The KOSPI also gave up ground, falling 1.1%.

Samsung Electronics shares fell 2.5%, and SK Hynix Inc shares dropped 4.5% on Monday.

Last week, the U.S. revoked approvals for Samsung and SK Hynix to obtain semiconductor equipment for their China chip plants.

S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.7%.

Straits Times Index was largely unchanged, while Nifty 50 gained 0.4%.

A private survey on Monday showed that China’s factory activity expanded at the fastest pace in five months in August amid easing U.S.-China trade worries.

The figures contrasted an official reading, showing a fifth consecutive contraction in August, but sparked optimism.

The Shanghai Composite index gained 0.1%, while the Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 was largely unchanged.

Hang Seng index notably jumped about 2%, outperforming regional peers, as investors interpreted the PMI rebound as a potential early signal of reviving Chinese industrial demand.