(Bloomberg) — Stocks in Asia fell on Wednesday, following a sell-off in the United States, as investors weighed whether the artificial intelligence rally that fueled the recent bull market still has room to continue.
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Stock market benchmarks in Sydney, Tokyo and Seoul all fell. Mainland Chinese stocks fell as much as 1.3%, taking losses from a high on Oct. 8 to more than 10%, as optimism faded that support from Beijing could help the struggling economy recover. S&P 500 futures were little changed, while Treasuries were also steady in Asia.
Broader weakness in the semiconductor sector was highlighted on Wednesday as Asian chip stocks, including SK Hynix Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, fell. The moves partly reflected a drop in shares of Dutch giant ASML Holding NV on Tuesday after it cut its 2025 outlook. In the United States, Nvidia Corp. lost 4.7%, signaling a slowdown for some of the major references in the industry.
“The European technological backlash spreading to Wall Street will inevitably drag down Asia,” said Vishnu Varathan, head of Asia economics and strategy at Mizuho Bank Ltd. in Singapore. “Optimism about Chinese stimulus appears to have tempered at the margin, to the point that markets have taken more gains, rather than a bullish position, on Chinese stocks.”
China’s Housing Minister plans to hold a press conference on Thursday, where he is likely to provide more details on measures to support the real estate sector and boost economic growth. Minister Ni Hong will be the latest senior economic official to speak publicly about the government’s shift toward stabilizing growth.
In the United States, the S&P 500 fell to around 5,815 and the Nasdaq 100 lost 1.4%. The dollar steadied after hitting its highest level in about two months after former President Donald Trump championed proposals to sharply increase tariffs on foreign imports. Separately, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said he expects the U.S. economy to slow this year but remain robust, adding that inflation’s downward trajectory could suffer some bumps.
Back in Asia, dollar and New Zealand sovereign bond yields fell after the annual inflation rate declined sharply in the third quarter, returning to the central bank’s target band for the first time in more than three years.
Meanwhile, three of Southeast Asia’s largest economies will announce their monetary policy decisions later on Wednesday. Indonesia and Thailand are expected to keep rates unchanged, while a cut is expected in the Philippines.
oil profits
Oil rose – after falling more than 4% on Tuesday – as Israel said it would make its own decision on how to attack Iran, keeping open the possibility that energy infrastructure could be a target.
Crude oil has been on a rollercoaster ride this month, with prices rocked by tensions in the Middle East as well as China’s efforts to revive growth in the largest importer. Traders have also been weighing the market outlook for next year, with the International Energy Agency flagging the prospects for a global glut.
“It seems like traders simply have their machines tied to oil futures these days,” said Christoph Rieger, head of rates and credit research at Commerzbank AG. “Whether it makes sense to adjust your view of long-term inflation based on this is a different question.”
This week’s key events:
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Morgan Stanley results, Wednesday
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ECB rate decision, Thursday
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US retail sales, jobless claims and industrial production, Thursday
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Federal Reserve’s Austan Goolsbee speaks Thursday
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China GDP, Friday
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US Housing Starts, Friday
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Federal Reserve’s Christopher Waller and Neel Kashkari speak Friday
Some of the main movements in the markets:
Stocks
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S&P 500 futures were little changed at 10:46 a.m. Tokyo time
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Nikkei 225 (OSE) futures fell 1.7%
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The Japanese Topix fell 0.9%
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Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.2%
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Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.5%
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The Shanghai Composite hardly changed
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Euro Stoxx 50 futures fell 0.5%
Coins
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Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index Little Changed
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The euro was little changed at $1.0890
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The Japanese yen barely changed at 149.06 per dollar.
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The offshore yuan was little changed at 7.1290 per dollar.
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The Australian dollar fell 0.2% to $0.6688.
Cryptocurrencies
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Bitcoin rose 1% to $67,172.85
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Ether rose 1.6% to $2,612.92.
Captivity
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The yield on the 10-year Treasury bond barely changed, standing at 4.03%.
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The 10-year Japanese bond yield fell two basis points to 0.950%
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The Australian 10-year bond yield fell six basis points to 4.20%
Raw materials
This story was produced with the help of Bloomberg Automation.
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