Asian & European Markets Slide as Valuation Jitters Spread Globally

Global equity markets turned lower as Asian and European indices followed Wall Street’s risk-off lead, with investors increasingly worried that valuations have run too far ahead of fundamentals.

The selloff hit tech heavy benchmarks hardest, but weakness spread across most major sectors.

Asia: Tech Led Drop

In Asia, major indices sank as traders reacted to the sharp pullback in U.S. tech shares.

Export oriented markets that depend on global demand for chips, hardware, and consumer electronics saw some of the steepest declines.

Sentiment was undermined by:

• Concerns that AI and semiconductor names are over-owned and overvalued

• Fresh signs of softness in regional manufacturing data

• Stronger dollar conditions pressuring local liquidity

Risk appetite, which had been strong for weeks, snapped quickly once big cap tech in the U.S. started to wobble.

Europe: Contagion, Not Crisis

European markets also slipped, with broad indices dragged lower by:

• Weakness in global growth plays (industrial, luxury, autos)

• Lingering uncertainty over the economic impact of tight monetary policy

• Renewed skepticism around earnings sustainability at current valuation levels

Financial stocks held up somewhat better, but not enough to offset declines in cyclicals and growth stories that had rallied hard earlier in the quarter.

What’s Really Spooking Markets

This isn’t about one piece of bad data it’s about a change in narrative:

• For months, investors leaned on AI, ultra large caps, and “soft landing” optimism.

• Now, CEOs, strategists, and even central bankers are openly warning that pricing assumes a near perfect outcome.

With volatility picking up, systematic and quant driven strategies are also dialing down risk, mechanically amplifying the downside across indices.

Asian and European markets aren’t collapsing they’re re rating. After a long stretch of near straight up charts, a phase of valuation cleanup is hitting global indices at the same time. Until earnings, policy signals, or new growth catalysts show up, expect more choppy trading and shallow bounces, not clean, one way rallies.