Anxiety over AI spending returns to global markets

Stocks in South Korea, Taiwan and Japan tumbled Friday, reversing gains from a rally the previous day, as investor anxiety about a potential investment bubble in artificial intelligence bled over to Asia from the United States.

Benchmark indexes in South Korea and Taiwan fell nearly 4% in Asia on Friday. The losses were driven by declines in chip companies, including South Korea’s SK Hynix, which plummeted more than 8%. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. shed more than 4%.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index declined 2%. Advantest, a Japanese…