Asian stocks today: Nikkei, Kospi fall over 4% as technology stocks weigh; Samsung shares slide

Asian markets traded lower on July 7 with South Korea's Kospi falling 4% and Japan's Nikkei 225 marginally lower, dragged by technology stocks despite Samsung Electronics reporting a 19-fold jump in quarterly profit driven by AI-related memory chip demand. SK Hynix shares fell 1% as it launched the marketing process for its US listing. In the US, the S&P 500 rose 0.72% to 7,537.43 and Nasdaq gained 1.12%, while the Dow hit a record 53,055.91 on AI-linked chipmaker strength. WTI crude slipped below 69 dollars per barrel on oversupply signals, and the yen held around 162.08 against the dollar amid large hedge fund bearish positions.