Asian Stocks Mostly Decline as Chip Shares Sell Off

According to Associated Press, Asian shares mostly declined Thursday on heavy selling of computer chip stocks, while US futures were little changed after modest losses on Wall Street. South Korea's benchmark Kospi index sank 5.1% to 7,877.45, with memory chip maker SK Hynix losing 7.7% and Samsung Electronics tumbling 6.4%.  Tokyo's Nikkei 225 lost 1.5% to 69,443.16 as chip equipment maker Tokyo Electron shed 5.6%. Taiwan's Taiex declined 1.1% with TSMC falling 1.8%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.8% to 23,060.63, with BYD shares jumping 8.7% after reporting a second straight month of rising sales. The Shanghai Composite fell 0.9% to 4,075.58. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 edged 0.1% lower to 8,710.30, while India's Sensex climbed 0.5%.  Oil prices fell after US and Iranian negotiators met separately with mediators from Qatar and Pakistan on Wednesday as traders eyed developments toward a permanent end to the war in Iran.  The Kospi and Nikkei 225 have gained about 85% and 34% respectively so far this year, driven by surging demand for artificial intelligence.