Global Markets:
- Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei down 1.57%, Shanghai Composite down 0.43% Hang Seng down 0.93% ASX down 0.71%
- Commodities : Gold at $4,469.30 (-0.79%) Silver at $72.920 (-1.42%), Brent Oil at $95.43 (0.44%), WTI Oil at $93.16 (0.15%)
- Rates : US 10-year yield at 4.476, UK 10-year yield at 4.9010, Germany 10-year yield at 3.0237
News & Data:
- (USD) Unemployment Claims 122K to 118K expected
Markets Update:
Asian markets fell sharply on Friday, led by South Korea, as weakness in U.S. technology stocks spread across the region. South Korea’s Kospi tumbled 4.11%, with major chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix dropping 6% and 8%, respectively. The small-cap Kosdaq index also declined 2.41%.
Investor sentiment was further dampened after South Korea’s labor minister called on major technology firms to share more of the profits generated by the AI-driven semiconductor boom with workers and suppliers, warning that record earnings could widen income inequality.
Elsewhere, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.1%, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.2%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index lost 0.46%, and China’s CSI 300 eased 0.29%.
The regional weakness followed a mixed session on Wall Street, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 874.86 points, or 1.73%, to a record close of 51,561.93. In contrast, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.09%, while the S&P 500 gained 0.41%.
The sell-off was triggered by Broadcom’s more than 12% decline after the chipmaker reported fiscal second-quarter revenue below expectations. The weakness spread across semiconductor stocks, with the VanEck Semiconductor ETF falling over 1%, Arm Holdings losing more than 4%, and Micron Technology dropping nearly 8%.
Markets were also pressured by uncertainty surrounding efforts to end the Middle East conflict, which has fueled concerns over higher oil and gasoline prices.
Upcoming Events:
- 12:30 PM GMT – USD Non-Farm Employment Change
