Asian stock markets tumble Friday as Japan's Nikkei sheds 5.3% in a global chip selloff

Asian stock markets fell sharply on Friday, July 17, 2026, hit by a wave of selling in chipmakers and AI-related shares. Japan's Nikkei 225 lost 5.3% to 63,357, near its lowest in a month, with Tokyo Electron down 9.3%, Advantest off 10.5% and SoftBank down 11.4%.

Taiwan's market fell 5.9% and TSMC dropped 6.1%, a day after the company announced a fresh $100 billion investment in the United States. Hong Kong's Hang Seng slipped 2.2% to 24,451, the Shanghai Composite fell 1.6% to 3,819 and Australia's benchmark eased 0.7% to 8,776.

Alongside the tech selloff, investors stayed wary of US-Iran tensions over the Strait of Hormuz, worries that have kept oil near a one-month high.