HONG KONG, July 7 — Seoul once again led losses in Asian stocks today as chip giant Samsung tumbled despite an eye-watering rise in profit, stoking fears that the record-breaking, AI-fuelled rally might have reached the end of the road.

Investors were unable to take up the baton from their counterparts on Wall Street, where all three main indexes reopened after a long weekend to rally on the back of gains in market heavyweights including Amazon and Apple.

The gains eased worries over a tech retreat over the past few weeks amid questions over whether the vast sums pumped into artificial intelligence will see suitable returns.

South Korean titan Samsung appeared to have answered some of those today as it said it expected to post a jump in second-quarter operating profit of more than 1,800 per cent thanks to sustained AI-driven demand for memory chips.

However, the company’s shares tumbled as much as 10 per cent at one point before ending down more than six per cent, dragging the Kospi index down nearly five per cent and deepening a rout that has hammered the market for the past two weeks.

The Kospi had more than doubled this year to a record high in June, but has since shed around 20 per cent.

The results come at the start of a much-anticipated earnings season that will be closely followed for an idea about firms’ outlooks for AI in light of the huge investment made in the sector.

“Strong earnings are no longer enough,” wrote Saxo Markets’ Charu Chanana.

“For AI-linked stocks, the market now wants strong earnings, strong guidance and clear evidence that pricing power can last.”

She added: “Investors are not paying for what has already happened. They are paying for what happens next.”

And Petra Capital Management’s Albert Yong said the plunge suggests “investors might have already priced in solid results and are increasingly focused on the longer-term trajectory of the memory cycle”.

There were also losses in Tokyo — another tech-heavy market — Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Taipei, Bangkok.

But there were gains in Singapore, Manila and Mumbai.

London and Paris rose but Frankfurt edged down.

Oil prices climbed more than one per cent after British maritime security agency UKMTO said an “unknown projectile” had struck and caused a fire on an oil tanker off the coast of Oman near the Strait of Hormuz yesterday.

The incident occurred near one of the world’s most important energy shipping routes, despite a ceasefire between the United States and Iran and efforts to secure a lasting peace agreement.

US news outlet Axios also reported late on Monday that Iran had “fired at least two missiles at commercial ships”, citing two unidentified US officials. One of the officials told Axios that a second ship was also struck and had been damaged significantly.

The developments came as investors keep close tabs on US-Iranian peace talks and amid marathon funeral proceedings for late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Traders are also awaiting the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve’s most recent policy meeting, hoping for fresh clues about its plans for monetary policy as it tries to battle elevated inflation. —AFP