Disappointing results from leading technology companies have rekindled market worries about the sector's outlook, sending emerging market stocks lower on Thursday and giving back part of the previous day's strong gains.
The MSCI Emerging Markets equity index fell about 0.9%, with South Korean stocks leading the decline, just one day after that market posted its biggest single-day gain in three months.
Samsung Electronics dragged the index lower, with its shares dropping 4% after the company disclosed weaker-than-expected chip profits and failed to announce any new shareholder return plan.
Alphabet's overall revenue falling short of expectations added to market anxiety, once again stirring concerns about the outlook for the artificial intelligence industry, and its U.S. shares tumbled sharply in premarket trading.
Amazon is set to report results on Thursday evening local time, while Apple will disclose its earnings next week, further testing market sentiment.
Wolf von Rotberg, a strategist at Safra Sarasin Bank, said emerging market equities have become a high-beta play on the artificial intelligence buildout process. He noted that as hyperscale technology companies shift their funding sources from internal cash toward debt financing, stress in credit markets could cause related investment to slow earlier than expected.
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