Asia stocks fall as Alphabet, Samsung results disappoint; more tech earnings loom

Asian stocks fell on Thursday, surrendering early gains as disappointing results from Alphabet and a sell-off in Samsung Electronics weighed on technology shares, while investors awaited earnings from Amazon and Intel for further clues on the outlook for artificial intelligence investment.

U.S. stock index futures also fell in Asian trading Thursday, with Nasdaq 100 Futures sliding 1.5%. Wall Street ended slightly higher overnight.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) shares slumped about 10% in after-hours U.S. trading after the company reported results that fell short of expectations and signalled heavy spending on artificial intelligence infrastructure.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), by contrast, gained about 3% after its results showed stronger-than-expected cash flow, highlighting investors' growing focus on whether technology companies can generate sufficient returns to justify their substantial AI investments.

S.Korea's KOSPI retreats on Samsung profit miss

South Korea's KOSPI fell nearly 3%. Samsung Electronics (KS:005930) shares fell nearly 6% despite the company reporting record third-quarter earnings, as investors focused on a miss in semiconductor profit expectations and uncertainty over additional shareholder returns.

Investors were also disappointed that Samsung did not provide immediate details of additional shareholder returns, with the company saying it would finalise its next policy in January. Its mobile business recorded an operating loss of 800 billion won as higher memory costs squeezed profitability.

Samsung warned that AI-driven memory demand would outstrip industry supply in 2027 and projected semiconductor capital expenditure of 76.8 trillion won this year, up 62% from 2025. 

The decline followed a rally of nearly 7% in the KOSPI on Wednesday, when SK Hynix (KS:000660) surged 11% after reporting a stronger-than-expected profit and announcing a 100 trillion won ($75 billion) shareholder-return plan. SK Hynix shares rose a further 1.6% on Thursday.

Elsewhere, China's Shanghai Composite fell 1.2% and the blue-chip Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 index slipped 1.2%, with chip stocks leading losses.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng traded largely flat, although its Hang Seng TECH sub-index slid 2%.

Japan's Nikkei 225 edged 0.2% higher after erasing most of its gains, while the broader TOPIX index fell 0.3%.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.4%, while Singapore's Straits Times Index edged up 0.1%.

Futures tied to India's Nifty 50 fell 0.3%.

Fed holds steady; BOJ decision awaited

Investors were also preparing for the Bank of Japan's policy decision on Friday, after its two-day meeting began on Thursday.

The central bank is widely expected to keep its policy rate at 1.25%, following a rate increase in September, while potentially raising its inflation forecasts as higher oil prices and a weak yen add to price pressures.

Markets will scrutinise Governor Kazuo Ueda's comments for clues on whether the BOJ could raise rates again as soon as December.

The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on Wednesday, although two policymakers voted in favour of a rate increase.

Markets were pricing in roughly a 78% chance of a U.S. rate increase in December, according to CME FedWatch, leaving investors sensitive to incoming inflation data. September's U.S. personal consumption expenditures price index, the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, is due on Friday.

Attention later shifts to Amazon and Intel, whose results and guidance will help investors assess whether strong AI demand can sustain the enormous spending on data centres, chips and cloud infrastructure.