GIFT Nifty was down more than 150 points on Friday, signalling a weak start for Indian equities after a broad sell-off swept through Asian markets amid heavy profit booking in artificial intelligence (AI)-linked stocks.
The weakness followed sharp declines across Asia, with Japan and South Korea leading the losses. Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 4.5%, while South Korea's Kospi dropped as much as 6.8%, dragged lower by steep losses in semiconductor giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. Hong Kong's Hang Seng declined 1.7%, China's Shanghai Composite lost 1.4% and Taiwan's Taiex fell 3.6%. Australia was the lone major market to buck the trend, edging higher.
