Top Stories This Morning: Tech Sector Plummets in Asia, $7 Billion Deal, OpenAI May Postpone Its IPO

Asian indices, led by the KOSPI, fell sharply in the wake of the U.S. tech sector amid concerns over rising AI infrastructure costs. According to media reports, OpenAI may postpone its IPO until 2027 in order to maintain its $1 trillion valuation. Read about these and other topics in our roundup of key events as of the morning of June 26.

SoftBank shares fell more than 13% on Friday, leading a sell-off in the Asian tech sector amid concerns over rising costs for developing AI infrastructure, according to CNBC. The pressure intensified following a decline in Arm shares and the Nasdaq’s fourth consecutive session of losses.

Following SoftBank, shares of SK Hynix, Samsung Electronics, Advantest, and Tokyo Electron fell. Investors are also concerned that rising chip prices will hurt the profitability of tech companies following price hikes by Apple for its MacBook and iPad, as well as by Microsoft for its Xbox consoles.

South Korea’s Kospi index plummeted by more than 8% on Friday, leading the decline in Asian markets amid an intensifying global sell-off in tech stocks, according to CNBC. Along with it, Japan’s Nikkei, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, and China’s CSI 300 all fell sharply, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures are also trading lower.

The market is under pressure due to concerns over rising AI infrastructure costs and higher chip prices. Following price increases for Apple products and Microsoft's Xbox, investors are concerned about a decline in tech companies' profitability, which has heightened volatility in the sector.

Oil prices continued to fall on Friday as investors assessed supply risks amid ongoing tensions in the Middle East, according to CNBC. Brent and WTI fell 2%—trading at $73.72 and $70.4, respectively, — despite reports of an attack on a cargo ship off the coast of Oman and ongoing threats to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Following the attack, the International Maritime Organization suspended the evacuation of ships from the Persian Gulf to reassess the safety of shipping routes.

Disagreements between the U.S. and Iran over the terms of the memorandum on the unfreezing of Iranian assets, as well as reports that Iraq is seeking an increase in its production quota, are putting additional pressure on the market.

ON Semiconductor has agreed to acquire Synaptics (a company that develops neural networks and human-computer interaction devices) for nearly $7 billion in an all-stock deal, according to CNBC. The company expects to strengthen its position in the field of physical artificial intelligence, expand its portfolio of intelligent systems, and increase its potential market by $30 billion—to $243 billion by 2030.

Following the announcement of the deal, ON Semiconductor’s shares fell by about 8% in after-hours trading, while Synaptics’ shares rose by about 7%. The deal is expected to close in mid-2027.

OpenAI is considering postponing its IPO until 2027 in order to maintain its target valuation of $1 trillion, according to The New York Times. The newspaper reports that the company’s management is not willing to lower the valuation in order to go public sooner.

In addition, the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has reportedly asked OpenAI to roll out the new GPT-5.6 model in phases for security reasons. During the early access phase, only select partners will be able to use the model, and customer access will be coordinated with U.S. authorities.

— Japan's broad-based Topix index fell 1.8%, while the Nikkei 225 fell 4.7%.

— Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 1.9%, while mainland China's CSI 300 Index fell 2.8%.

— In South Korea, the KOSPI index fell 8.2%, while the KOSDAQ index dropped 5.4%.

— Australia's S&P/ASX 200 remained virtually unchanged.

— S&P 500 futures fell 0.7%, Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 1.3%, and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 0.2%.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor