Business and finance news from the Asia-Pacific.

A selloff in equities spread to Asia after chip stocks tumbled on Wall Street, as hotter-than-expected US inflation fueled bets on more aggressive Federal Reserve rate hikes. Treasuries rallied.
MSCI Inc.'s Asia Pacific equities gauge dropped 1.5%, heading for a fourth straight decline, led by losses in South Korea, a bellwether for artificial intelligence investment. The Kospi Index slumped as much as 6.5% to its lowest since late July, with chip heavyweights Samsung Electronics Co. and SK Hynix Inc. tumbling at least 7%. Tech sentiment remained weak, with Nasdaq 100 Index futures falling as much as 1%. Earlier, the Russell 2000 entered a correction and a closely watched gauge of US semiconductor stocks had its longest losing streak since May 2025. CoreWeave Inc. shares plunged as much as 17%. Its debt due in 2032, which investors bought at par four months ago, traded at less than 78 cents on the dollar. Bloomberg's Paul Allen and Haidi Stroud-Watts spoke to  Goldman Sachs Chief APAC Regional Equity Strategist Timothy Moe.

Plus - US consumer prices advanced in September at the fastest pace in five months and a gauge of underlying price pressures rose by more than expected, keeping the squeeze on household budgets ahead of November's midterm elections. The hot inflation data lit up expectations that the Federal Reserve may raise interest rates this month, a prospect that appeared unlikely after policymakers in recent weeks signaled they had time to wait. Bloomberg's Haidi Stroud-Watts and Paul Allen spoke to  Robertson Stephens Chief Economist Jeanette Garretty.