Asia-Pacific markets experienced a notable decline on Friday, following a downturn in U.S. technology stocks that dampened investor sentiment. The Nikkei 225 in Japan reacted sharply, opening down 1.57%, while the Topix index suffered a loss of 0.72%. One of the most significant drops was seen in tech conglomerate SoftBank, which plummeted over 10%. Other technology-related stocks also faced declines, with Advantest falling more than 9%, Tokyo Electron retreating nearly 6%, Lasertec dropping close to 5%, and Renesas Electronics seeing a decrease of 1.95%.
Adding to the market’s downward pressure, Japan’s core inflation in October surged at its steepest rate since July. This development aligned with market forecasts and strengthened the argument for potential interest rate hikes by the Bank of Japan in the near future.
South Korea also faced market challenges, with the Kospi index plunging 4.09% and the small-cap Kosdaq declining by 3.01%. Heavyweight tech companies were significantly affected, with Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix experiencing drops of 4% and 9%, respectively.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 fell by 1.3%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index registered a decrease of 1.88% at the open, while the Hang Seng Tech index fell by 2.33%. Major tech players in Hong Kong were similarly impacted, with Baidu stumbling 6%, Xiaomi Corp down 4.51%, and Tencent trading 2.25% lower. The electric vehicle sector was not spared, with Chinese companies like BYD, Nio, and Li Auto reporting significant losses.
The mainland’s CSI 300 index also reflected the regional downturn, declining 1.13%. In India, the Nifty 50 was down 0.1%, while the BSE Sensex opened 0.33% lower.
In the cryptocurrency markets, Bitcoin fell by 0.91% to a value of $85,550, marking the lowest point in seven months. Ether reached its lowest price since July before recovering slightly, last trading down 1.08% at $2,802.81.
In the U.S. markets, overnight trading saw significant challenges for major tech stocks like Oracle and AMD, which were among the first to decline. Nvidia followed suit, reversing earlier gains to close nearly 3% lower. The impact of stronger-than-expected jobs data raised concerns regarding the Federal Reserve’s potential interest rate cuts, with traders now assigning only a 40% chance of a quarter-point cut in the upcoming month.
The Nasdaq Composite finished down 2.16%, correcting from a 2.6% advance earlier in the session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 0.84%, and the S&P 500 dropped 1.56%, despite showing an initial gain of 1.9% during the day.
