Tokyo, July 17 -- Asian shares slumped on Friday, led by Nikkei, which plunged more than 4 per cent as the tech selloff deepened with investors opting to observe caution on the red-hot AI rally that catapulted stock markets to new highs in the first half of this year.

Shares of Japanese tech giant SoftBank slid more than 9 per cent, tracking overall weakness in AI-related stocks in the US market. The tech-heavy Nasdaq index fell around 1.5 per cent overnight, with shares of Korean chipmaker SK Hynix listed in the US falling 13.7 per cent on Thursday. Korean markets are closed today.

Japan's Kioxia Holdings plunged 16 per cent as the AI exuberance faded and after a Texas federal jury ordered the flash memory giant to pay Viasat USD 229 m...