Key facts
- Asian stocks traded mixed on Wednesday amid a continued sell-off in big tech shares.
- South Korea's Kospi index gained 0.5% after a 10% drop on Tuesday.
- Japan's Nikkei 225 lost 1.1%, while Taiwan's Taiex fell 2.5%.
- Hong Kong's Hang Seng edged up 0.1%, and Shanghai Composite dropped 0.3%.
- Wall Street indexes were subdued at the open, with the S&P 500 up slightly and the Nasdaq Composite down slightly.
- Micron Technology shares fell 13.2% and Nvidia dropped 4.1% on Tuesday.
- Oil prices declined, with Brent crude at $76.30 a barrel.
Asian stocks traded mixed on Wednesday, reflecting a broader market sentiment influenced by a significant sell-off in big technology stocks that began on Wall Street and spread across Asian markets. U.S. stock futures also showed mixed trading as investors assessed the global market movements.
South Korea's benchmark Kospi index experienced a slight recovery, gaining 0.5% to 8,241.23, a modest rebound after a substantial 10% decline on Tuesday. Within the Korean market, shares of memory chip maker SK Hynix fell 3.6%, while Samsung Electronics saw a 3.7% increase following a sharp 12.3% drop the previous day.
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index lost 1.1% to 68,991.77, adding to its 3.6% fall on Tuesday. Taiwan's Taiex, heavily weighted by technology shares, declined by 2.5%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index edged up 0.1% to 23,364.72, while the Shanghai Composite index in mainland China was down 0.3% at 4,096.14. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 traded 0.1% higher at 8,797.00.
The declines in Asian markets followed a broader downturn on Wall Street, where the benchmark S&P 500 index dropped 1.4% on Tuesday. The technology-focused Nasdaq composite fell 2.2%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.1% lower. In the U.S. tech sector, Micron Technology shares sank 13.2% and Nvidia lost 4.1% on Tuesday.
James Reilly, senior markets economist at Capital Economics, described the significant falls in tech shares as an "illustration of rising volatility" in these stocks, particularly noting the role of domestic retail buyers in South Korea.
In commodity markets, oil prices saw an early Wednesday decline. Brent crude, the international benchmark, fell 0.7% to $76.30 a barrel, and U.S. benchmark crude was down 0.7% to $72.70 a barrel. This movement suggests market expectations of a potential recovery in Persian Gulf oil supplies, according to ING strategists, though vessel crossings in the Strait of Hormuz remain below pre-war levels.
Investors are also awaiting the release of the U.S. personal consumption expenditures price index for May, a key inflation gauge for the Federal Reserve. Bond yields have remained elevated amid inflation concerns and global energy market fluctuations.