A sudden surge in selling of Big Tech shares on Wall Street sent Asian shares spiralling on Wednesday, with Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index dipping more than 4 per cent and South Korea’s Kospi declining 3 per cent to 3,997.71 as Samsung Electronics shed 4.9 per cent.
The Nikkei fell nearly 5 per cent early in the session but was down 2.8 per cent by mid-afternoon, at 50,090.33. Computer chipmaker Tokyo Electron dropped 4.1 per cent, while stock in Advantest Corp., a maker of semiconductor testing equipment, lost 7.2 per cent.
Shares in energy and tech giant SoftBank Group also sank 9.8 per cent on jitters over its investments in artificial intelligence.
SK Hynix, which had logged major gains thanks to plans to develop artificial intelligence with chipmaker Nvidia, lost 2.9 per cent.
While the Chinese markets were less affected, US futures were mixed, and oil prices also fell.
The Shanghai Composite index recovered from modest earlier losses to edge 0.2 per cent higher, to 3,967.53, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng declined 0.3 per cent to 25,888.16.
“The rally that began in April is finally feeling its age. What we are seeing today wasn’t just a dip; it was a full-scale reality check,” said Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management, in a commentary.
Investors became jittery after heavy selling of high-tech related shares overnight on Wall Street. Palantir Technologies, which had more than doubled so far this year, fell 7.9 per cent despite reporting results that beat analysts’ forecasts. Nvidia also reversed course from a day earlier, falling 4 per cent, while Microsoft fell 0.5 per cent.
Other sectors also declined, leading the S&P 500 to fall 1.2 per cent to 6,771.55. The index set its most recent all-time high last week, and is still up more than 15 per cent for the year.
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The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5 per cent to 47,085.24. The technology-heavy Nasdaq fell 2 per cent to 23,348.64.
The technology sector has been driving gains this year on the back of demand for Artificial Intelligence (AI), and huge values for companies, including Nvidia and Microsoft, giving them outsized influence over the broader market’s direction.
“This wasn’t the usual intraday shake-out. It felt more like the oxygen suddenly thinning at the top of a mountain that everyone assumed had no summit,” Innes said.
The index, which had set its most recent all-time high last week, is still up more than 15 per cent for the year.
Wall Street remains focused on corporate earnings now. Roughly three out of every four companies within the S&P 500 have reported their latest results, and most have been better than analysts expected.
Several big companies will report their latest financial results later this week, including McDonald’s, Expedia Group and Qualcomm.
The latest round of corporate profit reports and forecasts has taken on more significance for Wall Street due to the US government shutdown. Investors and economists are trying to gauge the health and direction of the US economy without the latest economic updates on inflation and employment.
The lack of timely economic data has also left the Federal Reserve without many of the resources it needs to make decisions on interest rate policy. The latest data showed consumer prices rose 3 per cent in September, the highest increase since January. At the same time, hiring has stalled. That mix of conditions puts the US Federal Reserve in a tough position. Cutting rates to help the economy endure a weakening job market could also result in hotter inflation.
Outside of earnings, Tesla fell 5.1 per cent after Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, one of the electric car maker’s biggest investors, said Tuesday that it will vote against a proposed compensation package that could pay CEO Elon Musk as much as USD 1 trillion over a decade.
Yum Brands jumped 7.3 per cent after the company said it is considering selling its Pizza Hut unit, which has struggled to compete in a crowded pizza market.
Novo Nordisk slipped 1.8 per cent after it raised its offer to buy drugmaker Metsera, which jumped 20.5 per cent. Novo Nordisk is trying to outbid rival Pfizer, which fell 1.5 per cent.
In other dealings early Wednesday, US benchmark crude oil lost 31 cents to USD 60.25 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, shed 28 cents to USD 64.16 per barrel.
The dollar fell to 153.33 Japanese yen from 153.63 yen. The euro rose to USD 1.1493 from USD 1.1488.
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