Global Market Today: Asian stocks slide as US chip selloff deepens

Asian equities weakened, with the MSCI Asia Pacific index down 0.4% and South Korea's Kospi nearly 3% lower, after a US chipmakers index extended its three-day decline to 12% and the Nasdaq 100 fell 10% from its peak into a technical correction. Brent crude dropped 7.6% to $104.77 amid progress toward ending the Iran conflict, while China said it would encourage greater use of stock-support tools and major US technology companies raised debt to fund artificial-intelligence investment.