Asian Equities Plunge On Weak Tech Earnings, Soft US Data & BoJ Hike

Asian markets are experiencing significant declines with the sell-off starting after weak US data and tech earnings. Japanese equities are down sharply as the BoJ's unexpected interest rate hike and stronger yen impact exporters. The HSI has fallen due to tech and real estate stock losses, while Chinese markets are weighed down by economic concerns and weak corporate earnings. Additionally, US economic data from overnight including rising jobless claims and shrinking manufacturing activity, has triggered fears of a hard landing, further dampening investor sentiment across the region the recession trade of selling cyclicals vs buying defensives saw it's largest one-day change since the peak of the covid sell-off.

• Japanese equities have plunged the most since march 2020. Financials sold-off on the back of Daiwa (-21%) missing profit targets, semiconductor stocks have underperformed even the 7.13% sell-off made by the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index overnight.
• China and Hong Kong markets are also lower today, although Chinese equities are holding up much better than global peers. In Hong Kong the HSI is 2% lower as tech and real estate stocks suffered losses. Meanwhile, Macau casino stocks dropped by up to 4.2% following revenue growth in July that missed expectations, reflecting ongoing concerns about a crackdown on the gaming industry. In mainland China, the CSI 300 is 0.66% lower, while the Shanghai Composite is down 0.45%.
• Taiwan & South Korea equities have plunged due to the high exposure to tech stocks, Taiex is down 3.68% after TSMC fell 4.90%. The KOSPI is down 3.30% with the likes of SK Hynix, down 9% and Samsung down 3.60%.
• Australian equities have dropped 2.30% today, with the Big Four Banks the worst performing. New Zealand equities have largely escaped the global sell-off with gains in health care stocks somewhat offsetting weakness in other sectors, the NZX 50 is 0.60% lower.
• In the EM space Singapore's Straits Times down is 1.20% lower, Malaysia's KLCI is 0.80% lower, the Philippines PSEi is 1.14% lower, Indonesian JCI is 0.16%.