TOKYO, July 28, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Japanese and Korean shares dived in early trade Tuesday after US semiconductor chip stocks fell following a report of a breakthrough that could boost China's computer chip industry.

The Nikkei 225 was off 4.1 percent at 62,248.78 while the Kospi was down 7.9 percent at 6,221.81, with Samsung tanking more than seven percent and SK hynix off by 7.5 percent.

According to the website The Information, China's Shanghai Yuliangsheng has begun mass production of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines, a technology previously mastered only by the Dutch firm ASML.