Apple price hike sparks tech stock sell‑off across Asia and US markets

Asian equity indices opened lower on Friday as rising chip costs and Apple’s recent price increases on iPad and Mac products pressured technology shares. South Korea’s KOSPI fell more than 5%, with Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix each sliding over 6%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 3.9%, while SoftBank lost about 13% after news that OpenAI’s potential IPO could be delayed until 2027. Other regional markets also posted losses, with Hong Kong, Shanghai and Singapore indices down between 1% and 3%.

In the United States, the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.46% after Apple’s shares fell over 6% and Microsoft dropped 3.5% following announcements of higher prices for Xbox consoles due to storage component cost rises. Micron Technology surged nearly 16% on strong earnings, and Qualcomm rose about 4% after raising its 2029 non‑phone revenue outlook. Macro data showed US GDP grew 2.1% in Q1 and inflation remained elevated, keeping investor focus on the Fed’s policy outlook.

The coordinated sell‑off highlights investor concern that higher semiconductor and memory costs could dampen demand for consumer technology products globally.