Asia shares choppy as South Korea chip push steadies sentiment

Asian markets were choppy on Monday as investors weighed AI-driven growth against rising cost pressures, while South Korea's sweeping investment push into chips and AI steadied sentiment after recent losses and a fragile US-Iran ceasefire, reports Reuters.

The MSCI EM Asia gauge inched higher and the index tracking ASEAN stocks advanced 0.6 per cent. Both indexes hit a two-week low in the previous session.

Equity markets moved unevenly, reflecting investor caution over stretched AI-driven rallies, particularly in South Korea and Taiwan, and lingering uncertainty about how rising costs could filter through the sector.

South Korea's KOSPI, which lost 7 per cent last week, shed as much as 3.4 per cent earlier in the session on Monday.

However, it pared much of its losses, ending 0.2 per cent lower, after South Korea rolled out sweeping chip and AI mega-projects, with investments worth more than $576 billion over several years.