Global tech stocks were hit by an unexpected rise in US September CPI data, coupled with concerns over an AI valuation bubble. On Thursday, Asia-Pacific markets opened broadly lower, with South Korea's KOSPI index plummeting over 6% at the open, triggering the exchange's circuit breaker mechanism and halting program selling; SK Hynix plunged over 9%. Japan's Nikkei 225 index once fell more than 3% during intraday trading, and SoftBank Group dropped 7.62%.