06:34 AM EDT, 07/07/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Asian stock markets weakened under pressure from semiconductor issues on Tuesday, despite Samsung Electronics, the South Korean industry bellwether, reporting an all-time quarterly record profit of $58.5 billion in Q2, exceeding market expectations.

Traders remained concerned that AI-industry generated demand for integrated circuits and memory chips may fade, due in part to rising capital costs. Rich chip-stock valuations also influenced sentiments.

Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo finished in the red, as did most other regional exchanges, led by a 4.9% divot in Seoul's KOSPI index.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened evenly on overnight Wall Street cues, but closed down 2.1% as soft semiconductor issues undercut the market.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 1,480.73 to 68,256.96, as losing issues outnumbered gainers 128 to 94.

Leading the upside was beverage-house Sapporo, up 7.9%, while Sumco, which makes silicon wafers used in chip production, declined 11.6%.

In economic news, real wages in Japan in May rose 1.4% from a year earlier, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index tracked lower after opening, closing down 0.5% on weakness in property and tech shares.

The broad gauge Hang Seng fell 119.43 to 23,496.89, as losing issues outnumbered gainers 72 to 19. The Hang Seng TECH Index lost 0.8% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index fell 2.2%.

Leading the upside was online delivery service Meituan, gaining 4.5%, while social-media platform Kuaishou Technology declined 12%.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite fell 1.3% to 3,990.24.

On the other regional exchanges, the Taiwan TWSE declined 2.3%; the Australian ASX 200 declined 0.3%; the Singapore Straits Times Index rose 1.6%, and the Thai Set declined 0.8%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was down 0.2%

The MSCI All Country Asia Pacific Index fell 1.4% on the day.