Market Update: Stocks and Trends in Asia and the U.S.
Seoul, South Korea’s Kospi index marked a record high for the third consecutive day on Friday, recovering from earlier losses across Asia as trade discussions with the U.S. progress.
After reaching an intraday peak of 3,794.87, the index saw a slight decline, ultimately closing up at 3,748.89. In contrast, the smaller Kosdaq index fell by 0.68%, closing at 859.54.
Other markets in the Asia-Pacific region similarly faced losses, influenced by declines on Wall Street and rising worries about the banking sector alongside ongoing trade tensions.
Shares of regional banks and the investment bank Jefferies dropped on Thursday due to increasing fears regarding bad loans in the U.S.
In a separate development, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. experienced a 2.36% decline in its stock price, finishing at NT$1,450 ($47.28) per share, despite reporting a higher profit for the third quarter after the Taiwanese market closed on Thursday.
The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong plummeted 2.23%, primarily dragged down by education and energy stocks.
Chinese automaker BYD saw its stock fall more than 3% after it announced plans for what it described as the largest recall due to design flaws and issues related to batteries, affecting approximately 115,000 vehicles.
Meanwhile, the CSI 300 on the mainland dipped by 2.06%.
In Japan, the Nikkei Stock Average dropped 1.44%, closing at 47,582.15, while the TOPIX composite index fell by 1.03%, settling at 3,170.44.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 also declined, falling 0.81% to 8,995.3, marking the end of a three-day winning run.
On a brighter note, Singapore reported a strong rebound in non-oil domestic exports for September, which rose 6.9% year-on-year, overcoming a predicted 2.1% decline and reversing an 11.3% drop in August.
In the U.S., stock futures saw a slight decline late Thursday, following a pre-market reaction tied to concerns about local banking lending practices.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 301.07 points, or nearly 0.7%, closing at 45,952.24, having earlier risen by 170 points during the day.
The S&P 500 ended down 0.6% at 6,629.07 after surrendering earlier gains, while the Nasdaq Composite Index finished 0.5% lower at 22,562.54.
