06:37 AM EDT, 06/26/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Asian stock markets fell back Friday on tech-sector gloom, after media reports that prominent US-based OpenAI may delay its IPO until next year, to better secure a $1 trillion valuation.

Announcements by Apple (AAPL) that it will boost prices on iPads and MacBooks to offset higher memory- and storage-chip costs also damped sentiments.

Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Tokyo finished in the red, as did most other regional exchanges, led by a 5.8% retreat in Seoul's KOSPI index.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened lower and declined thereafter, closing down 4.1%.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 3,005.46 to 69,360.88, although gaining issues outnumbered losers 114 to 108, as declines were somewhat concentrated in tech issues.

Leading the upside was consumer products maker Kao, up 4.9%, while tech financier SoftBank slipped 12.5%.

In economic news, Tokyo's consumer price index core (CPI-core) that strips out fresh food bills, rose 1.6% on year in June, up from 1.3% in May, but still below the Bank of Japan's 2% target.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened lower and could not recover, closing down 1.8% as tech and property issues faltered.

The broad gauge Hang Seng fell 405.05 to 22,671.86, as losing issues outnumbered gainers 72 to 20. The Hang Seng TECH Index lost 3.4% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index fell 1.7%.

Leading the upside was J&T Global Express, gaining 4.6%, while smartphone components maker Sunny Optical Technology declined 9.1%.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite fell 2.3% to 4,027.26.

On the other regional exchanges, the Taiwan TWSE declined 3.6%; the Australian ASX 200 rose 0.2%; the Singapore Straits Times Index fell 0.5%, and the Thai Set declined 1%. Trading floors in Mumbai were closed on holiday.

The MSCI All Country Asia Pacific Index fell 2.6% on the day.