Asia stocks dither as tech remains fragile before Nvidia earnings

Updates with India open, fresh market moves at 23:19 ET (04:19 GMT)

Investing.com-- Most Asian stocks reversed early gains to trade lower on Wednesday, extending recent losses with heavyweight technology shares remaining weak before key earnings from bellwether Nvidia Corp . 

Regional markets took a weak lead-in from Wall Street, where an extended rout in tech stocks and heightened concerns over the U.S. economy drove deep overnight losses. S&P 500 Futures reversed course to fall 0.1% in Asian trade. 

Nvidia earnings awaited, Asia tech shares fragile 

Tech-heavy Asian bourses clocked limited gains on Wednesday, as the sector remained largely on edge before Nvidia’s earnings, which are due after the U.S. close today. 

South Korea’s KOSPI fell 0.7%, as did Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index. 

Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) is expected to post another bumper quarter, although focus will be squarely on whether the company can justify its massive $5 trillion valuation.

The artificial intelligence bellwether’s earnings come amid growing concerns over an AI-fueled bubble in tech, which were also a key driver of recent losses in the sector. 

South Korean Nvidia suppliers SK Hynix Inc (KS:000660) and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (KS:005930) fell over 1% each, while Japan’s Advantest Corp. (TYO:6857) shed 2%. 

Japanese shares wobble as fiscal fears, China spat persist

The Nikkei 225 index rose reversed course to fall 0.2% to a one-month low, while the TOPIX trimmed early gains to trade flat. 

Japanese markets were battered by growing concerns over the country’s fiscal health, especially as Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi prepares to announce even more government spending. 

Longer-term Japanese government bond yields remained upbeat after racing to multi-decade highs this week- a move that had spooked stock markets. 

A diplomatic spat between Japan and China, over Takaichi’s comments on military intervention in Taiwan, also weighed on Japanese shares, especially as Beijing warned against travel to Japan and was also seen blocking the local release of some Japanese movies. 

Chinese media reports showed local diplomats were dissatisfied with talks held with Japan this week. 

China’s Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 rose 0.2%, while the Shanghai Composite was flat. The two lost relatively less ground in recent weeks due to having less exposure to tech than their peers. 

Xiaomi ,  Baidu  fall after Q3 earnings

In Hong Kong, Xiaomi Corp (HK:1810) fell 4.7% and was the worst performer on the Hang Seng after the technology giant clocked mixed third-quarter earnings and warned that its core smartphones division faced headwinds from soaring memory chip costs. 

Xiaomi warned that it would be forced to hike smartphone prices, and that it may still see smaller margins due to chip costs. 

This largely overshadowed Xiaomi clocking a stronger-than-expected profit in the quarter, as its electric vehicle and artificial intelligence ventures bore fruit. Xiaomi’s EV division clocked its first ever quarterly profit. 

Chinese search internet giant Baidu Inc (HK:9888) reversed early gains and fell 0.8%, after it clocked a sharp drop in third-quarter revenue. 

Baidu’s core internet advertising segment was hit by slowing business spending in China, with the company also clocking a net loss due to asset writedowns. 

Baidu’s cloud business, however, remained a bright spot as its AI ventures gained traction. 

Broader Asian markets remained largely on the backfoot, amid caution over Nvidia and as investors steadily pared back expectations for a December interest rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve.

Australia’s ASX 200 and Singapore’s Straits Times index both drifted lower. 

India’s Nifty 50 index rose marginally in morning trade, but was nursing steep losses in recent sessions.