Lower In Asia; U.S. Chip Curbs Sends Semiconductor Stocks Lower

Asia-Pac equity indices are entirely in the red today, tracking a strongly negative lead from Wall St. (major cash equity indices closed ~2.1-3.8% softer on Friday), with the MSCI APEX50 index sitting 1.6% worse off at typing, on track for a second straight lower daily close.

• Semiconductor stocks across the region were sharply lower across the session after the Biden administration slapped fresh restrictions on chip exports to China, with losses observed in the likes Hua Hong Semiconductor (-9.1%), and Shanghai Fudan Microelectronics (-18.0%).
• The underperformance in semiconductor stocks comes after AMD’s disappointing post-market financials last Thursday.
• The TAIEX (-1.4%) is accordingly lower as well, with bellwether and index heavyweight TSMC (-2.9%) contributing the most to drag.
• Hong Kong-listed Chinese equities struggled, with the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index dealing 2.6% softer at writing. China-based tech leads the way lower, with virtually all constituents in the HSTECH (-3.5%) trading lower at writing, underperforming the broader Hang Seng Index (-2.5%).
• Underperformance in China-based stocks comes as bearish pressure from a selloff in equities (owing to a rise in expectations for Fed hikes) has mixed with relatively muted Golden Week holiday spending.