The Kospi index in South Korea fell as much as 6% during the session, with shares of chipmakers declining in tandem with their U.S. counterparts as investors assessed the latest remarks on inflation from Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Wash. SK Hynix Inc, Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, and Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co Ltd were the biggest drags on the benchmark index.
The smaller-cap Kosdaq index saw a decline of up to 4.6% at its lowest point. The broader MSCI Asia Pacific Index dropped by as much as 1.1%.