Chinese shares opened lower on Wednesday, driven by a selloff in technology stocks and market expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will raise rates.
The Shanghai Composite Index, the main gauge of Chinese stocks, slipped 0.4% to 4,090.10. The Shenzhen Component Index slid 0.5% to 15,782.40.
Artificial intelligence and chip stocks drove the global tech sector deeper into losses, a slide that originated with heavy losses among South Korea's two largest firms, NBC News reported.
Major market-moving technology stocks Samsung Electronics (KRX:005930) and SK Hynix (KRX:000660) plunged over 12% at market close on Tuesday.
Investor sentiment took an additional hit from SpaceX, which has trended downward for several sessions following its much-hyped June 12 listing, NBC wrote.
Also hurting sentiment was rising bets on a Fed interest rate hike. Bank of America now expects rate increases of 75 basis points across September, October and December, marking a reversal from its recent forecast of no change this year.