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Updates with Indian open, adds individual stock moves
Investing.com-- Most Asian stocks retreated on Wednesday with Hong Kong shares leading losses on a drop in technology stocks, while a stellar rally in Japanese markets now appeared to be cooling.
Regional trading volumes remained muted on account of market holidays in China and South Korea.
Asian markets took a weak lead-in from Wall Street, which fell from record highs amid a pullback in technology stocks, especially those linked to chipmaking, cloud services, and artificial intelligence.
S&P 500 Futures rose 0.1% in Asian trade, remaining muted as markets awaited more insight into the U.S. economy from a string of Federal Reserve speakers this week.
Global political jitters also spurred some risk aversion, as a U.S. government shutdown stretched on, while a political crisis in France deepened. Gold hit a record high above $4,000/oz in Asian trade.
Hong Kong shares dip on tech losses
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was the worst performer in Asia on Wednesday, losing 1% in morning trade on losses in technology stocks.
Tech majors Baidu Inc (HK:9888), Alibaba Group (HK:9988), and JD.com (HK:9618) fell between 2.7% and 5%, and were among the biggest weights on the Hang Seng. Chipmaker Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (HK:0981) shed 2.6% and internet giant Tencent Holdings Ltd (HK:0700) fell 0.7%.
Losses in tech– after a strong run through the past two months– were driven chiefly by some doubts over AI, after an overnight report raised questions over cloud major Oracle’s (NYSE:ORCL) margins in the sector.
Nvidia’s recent investment in OpenAI, coupled with a report it was investing $2 billion in Elon Musk’s xAI, also drove some concerns over circular investing in AI, which could present long-term risks.
AI has so far been a major driver of tech stock gains in the past two years. But some doubts over the technology crept into markets this year, especially amid frothy tech valuations.
Barring tech, other sectors were resilient. Electric vehicle maker BYD Co (HK:1211) rose nearly 2% in Hong Kong trade after the unveiling of new low-cost models by rival Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) largely underwhelmed. Tesla shares fell nearly 5% overnight.
Japan stock rally cools as fiscal questions over Takaichi linger
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index was flat, while the TOPIX index rose 0.7%. Both indexes traded below record highs hit this week, after fiscal dove Sanae Takaichi was elected leader of the country’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
Japanese stocks had shot up on Takaichi’s victory, which set her up for prime ministership. The LDP leader is widely expected to dole out more fiscal spending, cut income taxes, and oppose any more interest rate hikes by the Bank of Japan.
But questions lingered over just how Takaichi will fund this fiscal bump, especially amid increasing unpopularity of Japanese government bonds among investors. The yen slumped after her election, as did bond prices.
Japanese markets were also pressured by substantially stronger-than-expected household spending data for August. Strong spending is expected to further underpin inflation, putting more pressure on the BOJ to hike interest rates.
Takaichi’s prime ministership could put the BOJ at odds with the government over monetary policy, given that BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda has maintained the stance that interest rates will rise in tandem with inflation.
Among individual stocks, Toyota Motor Corp (TYO:7203) tread water after the Japanese automaker issued a recall for nearly 394,000 U.S. vehicles due to a rearview camera issue.
Broader Asian markets crept lower amid weakness in tech and as global risk sentiment cooled. Australia’s ASX 200 fell 0.1%, while Singapore’s Straits Times index shed 0.4%.
James Hardie Industries PLC (ASX:JHX) was an outperformer in Australia, rallying around 10% after the construction materials maker flagged a strong fiscal second quarter.
India’s Nifty 50 index rose marginally in morning trade, remaining above 25,000 points.
Focus is on a host of third-quarter earnings, with Indian tech majors Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. (NSE:TCS), HCL Technologies Ltd (NSE:HCLT), and Tech Mahindra Ltd (NSE:TEML) set to report in the coming days.