Global equity markets fell on Tuesday as a rout in semiconductor stocks offset strong earnings from Samsung Electronics. South Korea's Kospi tumbled 4.9 percent, with Samsung shares dropping nearly 7 percent in Seoul despite the company reporting a roughly 19-fold increase in second-quarter operating profit. Japan's Nikkei 225 also declined 2.1 percent.
The selloff extended to Wall Street, where the S&P 500 and Nasdaq fell 0.6 percent and 1.2 percent respectively by mid-morning. Intel, AMD, and Micron led the chip-sector losses, while SpaceX shares dropped 6 percent in their first session following inclusion in the Nasdaq-100 index.
Elsewhere, Brent crude climbed 2.7 percent to $73.94 after a tanker in the Strait of Hormuz was struck by a projectile. Vertex Pharmaceuticals declined after agreeing to acquire Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, whose stock nearly doubled. The 10-year Treasury yield edged up to 4.51 percent.