November 12, 2024 04:52 GMT
ASIA STOCKS: Asian Equities Mostly Lower As Semiconductors Struggle
ASIA STOCKS
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Asian equities are mostly lower today. Japanese equities have given back session gains to now trade mixed with tech stocks underperforming. Hong Kong listed equities have seen a sharp drop due to concerns about domestic macroeconomic conditions and rising geopolitical tensions, headlines out earlier supporting the China property market have done little to push equities higher. Asian tech stocks are the worst performing today, with the large-cap semiconductor stocks leading the losses. US Tsys yields rose, driving funds into the dollar and pressuring emerging Asian currencies, with the Thai baht and Indonesian rupiah weakening.
- Asia tech is struggling, tracking moves made overnight in the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index. Investors are now looking to key earnings reports from Tencent and Alibaba to gauge the impact of business streamlining efforts, and whether consumer spending will recover with potential Beijing stimulus.
- China mainland equities are outperforming Hong Kong listed equities, with the CSI 300 +0.40%, while the HSI is -1.75%, HSTech Index is -2.50%.
- Japanese equities are off earlier highs, with the TOPIX now just 0.10% higher for the day, Recruit Holdings surged 8.20% in early morning trading following better-than-expected operating profit for 2Q however most of those gains have now been erased and trades just 2.5% higher. The Nikkei has erased earlier gains and now trades down 0.70%, with Tokyo Electron (-3.20%) struggling.
- South Korea’s Kospi is trading 1.30% lower, marking a third straight session of losses, driven by foreign and local fund selling, while retail investors stepped in to buy. Taiwan's TAIEX is trading 1.70% lower, largely due to a 2.30% drop from TSMC following a 2.54% fall in the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index overnight.
- Australia's ASX 200 is 0.2% lower, primarily impacted by declines in gold miners as bullion prices retreated following volatility in the US. Meanwhile, Australian consumer confidence rose in November, as households appeared less worried about future interest rate hikes.
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