Asian Equities Lower As Investors Sell Tech Stocks

Asian equities are lower today, as weak earnings reports and Nvidia's underwhelming forecast weighed on investor sentiment. Chipmakers, including TSMC, Samsung Electronics, and SK Hynix, led the losses, reflecting a cooling in enthusiasm for AI-related stocks. Chinese equities also struggled, with tech and EV makers like Li Auto and BYD dragging down indices due to earnings misses. In contrast, Southeast Asian markets saw mixed performance, with Indonesia's key stock gauge touching a record high, supported by strong foreign inflows.

• Japanese equities fell as tech-related stocks, particularly Tokyo Electron (-0.67%) fell on the back of Nvidia's forecast. The broader Topix is down 0.10% , while the Nikkei 225 is down 0.15%, reflecting concerns over the tech sector's outlook amid a global cooling in AI-related enthusiasm.
• South Korean shares declined sharply, led by significant drops in major chipmakers Samsung (-3%) and SK Hynix (-5.90%). The market's negative sentiment extended to bio stocks, while energy shares provided some offset, with gains in SK Innovation and LG Chem. Currently the KOSPI is down 1.20%, while the KOSDAQ is down 1%
• Taiwan's equities are also lower today, driven by a decline in TSMC which is trading down 2%. The cooling sentiment around AI investments weighed heavily on the tech-heavy market, as the Taiex is down 1%.
• Australian stocks were pulled lower by weak earnings reports, particularly in the mining and consumer discretionary sectors. The ASX 200 index is down 0.40%, reflecting broader regional declines and dampened sentiment following Nvidia's underwhelming forecast.
• Asia EM equities are mixed today, Thailand's SET & India Nifty 50 are both flat, Indonesia's JCI is 0.60% higher, Singapore's Straits Times is 0.35% higher, Malaysia's KLCI is 0.30% is lower while Philippine's PSEi is 0.90% lower.