Asian shares mostly advanced on Monday, although technology stocks remained volatile amid concerns over heavy artificial intelligence investments, while oil prices dropped more than 3%.

US stock futures edged higher after Wall Street recorded its steepest single-day decline since June on Friday, as investors sold off technology and AI-related shares.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 reversed early gains, falling 0.1% to 63,218.02, as losses among major technology companies weighed on the index.

SoftBank Group, an investor in OpenAI, declined 1.8%, while Japanese memory chipmaker Kioxia Holdings plunged around 14% after its earnings forecasts disappointed investors and analysts.

In contrast, South Korea’s benchmark Kospi climbed 2.3% to 5,859.83. Samsung Electronics gained 1.7%, while SK Hynix surged 4.2%.

Technology shares have faced fluctuations amid growing concerns that the massive investment in AI infrastructure could turn into a bubble.

Apple was scheduled to release its latest earnings results later Monday. Earnings reports from Google parent Alphabet and Amazon last week unsettled investors, raising questions about whether their substantial AI spending would generate profits as quickly as expected.

Over the past month, the Nikkei 225 has lost more than 6%, while the Kospi has dropped over 16%.

Elsewhere in Asia, Taiwan’s Taiex slipped 0.2%, with leading chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. falling 1.5%.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.6% to 23,437.41, while the Shanghai Composite gained 1.2% to 3,640.93. The gains came despite data showing China’s factory activity returned to contraction in October as economic growth slowed.

China’s central bank and securities regulator were scheduled to meet financial institutions on Monday to discuss measures to support the capital market, according to local media reports.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.6% to 8,851.40, while India’s Sensex advanced 1.1%.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 dropped 1.8% on Friday, the Nasdaq Composite fell 2.9% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 1.1%.

Investors are also monitoring Tuesday’s US midterm elections, with concerns over AI, data centres, inflation and other economic issues drawing attention across the political spectrum.

Oil prices fell sharply in early Monday trading. Brent crude, the international benchmark, declined 3.3% to $109.66 a barrel, while US benchmark crude dropped by the same percentage to $100.64.

The decline came as Iran’s top diplomat said Iranian negotiators were in Qatar discussing a proposal that could lead to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz within two days, provided the United States meets several conditions.

In an interview shared on his Telegram channel over the weekend, the diplomat said no direct negotiations were taking place with Washington. He added that the outcome of diplomatic efforts to prevent a return to full-scale war would depend on the US response to Iran’s questions.

In currency trading, the US dollar rose to 157.91 Japanese yen from 157.49 yen. The euro also edged up to $1.1172 from $1.1160.