Asian Shares Fall, Tracking Wall Street Tech Sell-Off
TOKYO: Asian markets retreated on Wednesday, following losses on Wall Street led by technology stocks, including Nvidia, which have been central to the artificial intelligence boom.
Indexes in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan dropped, weighed down by heavy selling in semiconductor shares. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.7% to 42,787.28 after Japan reported exports declined more than expected in July due to higher U.S. tariffs. Chip-related firms saw steep losses: Advantest sank 6.6%, Disco Corp. 4.7%, Tokyo Electron 1.9%, and Lasertec 1.8%. Taiwan’s Taiex slid 2.4% after TSMC dropped 3.8%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 0.6% to 24,980.20, and Shanghai’s Composite edged 0.1% lower to 3,725.22 after China’s central bank left interest rates unchanged. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.2% to 8,917.60. South Korea’s Kospi lost 1.4% to 3,096.09 as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un condemned ongoing South Korea–U.S. military drills and vowed to expand nuclear capabilities.
On Wall Street Tuesday, the S&P 500 fell 0.6% to 6,411.37, its third straight loss, though still near last week’s record high. The Nasdaq tumbled 1.5% to 21,314.95, while the Dow Jones inched up 0.1% to 44,922.27. Nvidia slid 3.5%, while Palantir Technologies plunged 9.4%—the steepest S&P 500 drop—as short bets against the stock surged. Meta Platforms also fell 2.1%. Analysts warn that AI-related stocks have soared too quickly since April, fueling concerns over high valuations and trade risks.
Home Depot gained 3.2%, helping buoy the Dow, after reporting slightly weaker-than-expected results but reaffirming full-year guidance.
Markets now await Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech on Friday at the Jackson Hole symposium, historically a venue for major policy signals. Investors hope for hints of rate cuts as early as September following soft U.S. job growth. However, Bank of America strategists caution Powell may remain cautious and even raise the risk of “stagflation.”
In commodities, U.S. crude rose 12 cents to $61.89 a barrel, while Brent crude added 11 cents to $65.90. The dollar slipped to 147.52 yen from 147.66, while the euro fell to $1.1636 from $1.1648.
