On Friday, markets in the Asia-Pacific region experienced declines following a stagnation in U.S. tech stocks, which led to a decrease in investor optimism regarding a potential interest rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve in December.
The Japanese Nikkei Stock Average dropped by 1.57%, while the TOPIX index fell by 0.72%. In the tech sector, SoftBank saw a significant decrease of over 10%. Other notable drops included Advantest at more than 9%, Tokyo Electron nearly 6%, Lasertec close to 5%, and Renesas Electronics at nearly 2%.
Meanwhile, core inflation in Japan met market expectations in October, marking the highest increase since July. This aligns with the Bank of Japan’s decision to raise interest rates.
South Korea’s Kospi index fell by 4.09%, and the smaller Kosdaq saw a decline of 3.01%. Major companies like Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix suffered losses of 4% and 9%, respectively.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 declined by 1.3%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped by 1.88%, with the Hang Seng Tech Index down by 2.33%. Technology companies faced challenges, with Baidu slipping 6%, Xiaomi decreasing by 4.51%, and Tencent dropping 2.25%.
Stocks in the automotive sector on the Hang Seng also fell, with electric vehicle producer BYD down by 2.68%. Nio and Li Auto experienced nearly 6% and 2% drops, respectively.
On the mainland, the CSI 300 index fell by 1.13%.
In the U.S. market, stocks of companies like Oracle and AMD dropped early in the session, quickly followed by others. Nvidia notably closed nearly 3% lower as well.
Recent positive U.S. jobs data has raised questions about whether the central bank will move to lower its interest rate. Traders had initially estimated about a 40% chance of a quarter-point cut occurring in the near future, so this uncertainty presents a challenge for investors eager for lower borrowing costs.
On Thursday, the Nasdaq Composite Index decreased by 2.16%, a shift from earlier gains of 2.6%. Other indexes also fell, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down by 0.84% and the S&P 500 dropping 1.56%, retreating from a rise of as much as 1.9% earlier in the day.
