Bank of Korea rate decision, Kospi, Nikkei, HSI
Concerns over U.S.-China trade relations led to a decline in Asia-Pacific markets on Thursday, following Wall Street’s negative performance.
Fears regarding trade resurfaced after a report by Reuters on Wednesday stated that the Trump administration is considering restrictions on exports to China that utilize U.S. software. The plan, which may encompass various items such as laptops and jet engines, is still under discussion and might not be implemented.
In early trade, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index dropped by 1.52%, while the Topix fell by 0.71%. SoftBank’s shares plummeted by over 6% after the announcement of issuing U.S. dollar and euro-denominated bonds for AI investments.
South Korea’s Kospi index and Australia’s ASX/S&P 200 also experienced declines, with the Kospi plunging by 1.5% and the ASX/S&P 200 falling by 0.33%. Additionally, the Hang Seng Index futures pointed to a lower open in Hong Kong.
In the U.S., equity futures were slightly lower in early Asian trading following the previous day’s decline. Poor corporate earnings from companies like Texas Instruments and Netflix contributed to the drop in major U.S. indices.
On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down by 334.33 points, the S&P 500 fell by 0.53%, and the Nasdaq Composite shed 0.93%. At their lowest points, the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq were down by 1% or more.
— This article includes contributions from CNBC’s Sean Conlon and Pia Singh.
