Asian Software Stocks Tumble as AI Anxiety Rattles Global Markets

In Hong Kong, the regional tech gauge was weighed down by Kingdee International, which saw its shares plunge nearly 10% during morning trading. Other notable decliners included AI software specialist SenseTime Group, which slid 6.5%, and Beijing-based Kingsoft Corp., which shed roughly 4%. Japanese markets faced similar pressure, with IT services provider NEC Corp. and Softbank Group both falling approximately 5% to 6%.

Market Contagion and the Citrini Report

The bearish sentiment followed a volatile Monday session in the U.S., where a report from Citrini Research sparked fresh fears that rapid technological change could commoditize high-level knowledge work. This outlook hit American software firms particularly hard, with Datadog and CrowdStrike each falling more than 9% on Monday. The contagion spread to broader financial entities like American Express and Blackstone, both of which were highlighted in the research as potentially vulnerable to these shifts.

The downturn extended to the Australian market, where enterprise and logistics software providers saw consistent losses:

• WiseTech Global fell approximately 3% as cloud-logistics sentiment cooled.
• Technology One dropped 4% amid the broader SaaS selloff.
• Accounting software firm Xero declined by 3% during the session.

Strategists at OCBC Group Research characterized the movement as a "risk-off" shift, noting that AI-related jitters are now compounding existing geopolitical and tariff concerns. According to the report, this environment has driven investors toward safe-haven assets, lifting gold prices while pushing global bond yields lower. Analysts warn that upcoming releases of new AI tools could continue to trigger volatility within specific tech subsectors as markets reassess the technology's valuation and its impact on labor productivity.