Asian equity markets traded mostly lower and Bitcoin fell sharply on Friday after losses in technology stocks dragged Wall Street down, unsettling investor sentiment across global markets.
Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, was trading about 9 per cent lower at just under $65,000, after briefly sliding more than 12 per cent a day earlier. The fall has wiped out gains made since Donald Trump won a second term as US President, with prices now around half of October’s record high above $124,000.
In Asia, South Korea’s Kospi declined 1.7 per cent to 5,076.69, weighed down by technology shares. Samsung Electronics slipped 0.9 per cent, while chipmaker SK Hynix fell 0.6 per cent.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dropped 1.2 per cent to 26,569.14, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 shed 1.6 per cent to 8,745.60. Taiwan’s Taiex fell 0.2 per cent. The Shanghai Composite index was flat at 4,075.37.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 bucked the regional trend, rising 0.5 per cent to 54,073.52, recovering from earlier losses as technology-related stocks led gains. SoftBank Group rose 1.9 per cent and chipmaker Tokyo Electron advanced 3 per cent. Japan heads into a general election on February 8, with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi seeking a stronger mandate.
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US equity futures also pointed lower, with S&P 500 futures down 0.3 per cent and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures off 0.2 per cent.
Overnight, the S&P 500 fell 1.2 per cent to 6,798.40, marking its sixth loss in seven sessions. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 1.2 per cent to
48,908.72, while the Nasdaq Composite slid 1.6 per cent to 22,540.59.
Technology stocks bore the brunt of the sell-off amid concerns over whether massive investments in artificial intelligence will generate sufficient returns. Qualcomm shares sank 8.5 per cent despite beating revenue estimates, while Alphabet slipped 0.5 per cent as investors focused on its heavy AI spending plans.
Amazon fell 11 per cent in after-hours trading after announcing plans to raise capital expenditure by more than 50 per cent to about $200 billion, largely for AI-related investments. Fresh AI tools unveiled by startup Anthropic also added to pressure on software stocks, raising fears of disruption across traditional services.
In commodities, gold prices fell 1 per cent to $4,843.70 an ounce after nearing $5,600 last week, while silver dropped 6.6 per cent to $71.63 an ounce. US crude rose 35 cents to $63.64 a barrel, and Brent crude gained 36 cents to $67.91.
The US dollar weakened to 156.74 yen, while the euro edged up to $1.1789.
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