South Korea's Kospi index fell roughly 5 percent on Monday, giving back a portion of Friday's record single-day surge as investors took profits in heavyweight chipmakers and crude oil prices tumbled on renewed U.S.-Iran diplomacy.
Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, which together account for more than half the Kospi's market capitalisation, both dropped over 8 percent. The retreat followed a July in which the Kospi suffered its steepest monthly decline since the 2008 financial crisis, despite Friday's roughly 18 percent rebound. The sell-off in Seoul defied a positive close on Wall Street, where Amazon shares had jumped on strong cloud-computing revenue.
Oil markets added to risk-off sentiment. Brent crude slid more than 4 percent after U.S. President Donald Trump said he called off planned strikes on Iran and would resume negotiations. Japan's Nikkei 225 and mainland China's CSI 300 edged higher, while Shanghai and several Southeast Asian bourses closed lower.