Global Markets React to AI Selloff, Alibaba Boosted by New AI Model

A broad AI-related selloff hit global equity markets on August 3, dragging down chipmakers even as Alibaba bucked the trend on the strength of its new AI model. China's major indexes retreated, with the CSI300 down 0.7% and the Shanghai Composite off 0.6% by the midday break, while the tech-heavy STAR50 index fell 3.7% and the CSI All Share Semiconductor Index dropped 5.2%.

The selloff rippled across Asia: South Korea's KOSPI sank roughly 4% as its heavily chip-weighted index absorbed the brunt of the semiconductor pullback. In contrast, Hong Kong's Hang Seng edged 0.3% higher, propped up by BABA, which surged more than 5% after Alibaba unveiled its Qwen3.8-Max model, illustrating how company-specific AI news can decouple a stock from a sector-wide downdraft.

In the US, the picture was more mixed than a simple crash. Coverage of the session noted that while headline AI hardware names sold off, software stocks quietly outperformed, and MSFT and NVDA both advanced even as the broader AI complex weakened. The divergence suggests investors are starting to differentiate between capital-intensive AI infrastructure plays and software companies monetizing AI more directly.

Going forward, the KOSPI's chip-driven sensitivity and China's semiconductor weakness are worth tracking as leading indicators for how far the AI selloff spreads beyond the initial hyperscaler jitters, while Alibaba's rally shows individual model launches can still move stocks independent of the macro trend.

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• NVDA
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