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Asian Equities Lower On Weaker Tech, Stronger Yen

ASIA STOCKS

Asian stocks fell to a four-week low as technology stocks declined, influenced by a rout in US tech peers. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dropped over 1.4%, with significant declines in Hitachi, SK Hynix, and Tencent. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell nearly 3%, while the yen continued to strengthen against the USD. The losses followed a Wall Street selloff triggered by disappointing earnings from Tesla which fell over 10% and Alphabet, cooling an already weakening AI-driven rally. Concerns about Beijing's economic rejuvenation also weighed on Hong Kong and mainland China stocks, while Taiwan's market remained closed due to a typhoon.

  • Japanese equities are under pressure today with benchmark indices down 1-3% with some nearing a technical correction, as an AI-driven rally in technology shares reversed and concerns grew over a potential BoJ interest rate hike. The Nikkei is down 2.75% today and has dropped over 10% from its peak two weeks ago, with Renesas Electronics leading the decline after disappointing earnings. The broader Topix index is 2.5% lower, with significant declines in exporters such as Hitachi and Tokyo Electron as the yen continues to trade higher and now is now up 5% over the past two weeks.
  • South Korean equities are lower, with tech stocks like SK Hynix tumbled as much as 8.4%, even after solid earnings, contributing to the broader market's decline. The strengthening yen has added to the pressure on South Korean exporters. The Kospi & Kosdaq both trade about 1.90% lower.
  • Taiwan equity markets are again closed today due to a Typhoon, Taiex futures continue to trade though and are 2% lower. Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index fell 5.41% overnight and now trades down almost 14% since the July highs.
  • Australian equities are lower today, tech stocks fell inline with global peers but due to the large exposure to resources rather than tech, the ASX 200 is down just 1.10%. New Zealand equities fell 0.50%.
  • In EM Asia all markets are lower with Singapore's Straits Times down 0.70%, Malaysia's KLCI down 0.25% & Indonesia's JCI down 0.50%, while Philippines PSEi is down 0.1.46%

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