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On Friday, most Asian stock markets declined, mirroring the negative sentiment from Wall Street as persistent concerns over U.S. inflation and high interest rates dampened investor appetite for riskier assets.
Chinese Markets:
- Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300: Fell 0.4%
- Shanghai Composite: Declined 0.2%
- Hang Seng Index: Dropped 1.5%
Chinese markets continued their downward trend following sharp declines on Thursday. This was fueled by the escalating trade war with the U.S. and ongoing military drills near Taiwan by the People’s Liberation Army, exacerbating regional tensions.
Key Losses:
- Alibaba Group: Fell another 1% after a 5.2% drop on Thursday due to issuing $5 billion in convertible bonds to spur growth.
- Baidu Inc and Tencent Holdings Ltd: Both saw declines following Alibaba’s trend.
- Property Stocks: Investors took profits in anticipation of further insights into Beijing’s stimulus measures.
Broader Asian Markets:
- Australia’s ASX 200: Shed 1.1%
- Japan’s Nikkei 225: Lost 1.1%
- Japan’s TOPIX: Dropped 0.5%
Investor sentiment in Japan was further weakened by data showing that consumer inflation softened as expected in April, indicating persistent weakness in consumer spending.
South Korean Market:
- Samsung Electronics: Fell over 2% after reports that its high bandwidth memory (HBM) chips were not meeting Nvidia’s standards due to heating and power issues.
- KOSPI Index: Declined over 1%, dragged down by losses in Samsung and a slight decline in SK Hynix Inc, another HBM chip supplier for Nvidia.
India’s Nifty 50 Futures: Pointed to a weak open, likely due to profit-taking after the index reached record highs on Thursday.
U.S. Influence:
U.S. stock index futures steadied in Asian trading after significant losses on Wall Street, driven by warnings from Federal Reserve officials on inflation and interest rates. A notable exception was Nvidia Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA), which saw a rally due to strong first-quarter earnings. However, this did not spill over into Asian markets, particularly among regional chipmakers facing their own challenges.
Overall, the escalation of the Middle East conflict, ongoing trade tensions, and hawkish signals from the Federal Reserve significantly influenced market sentiment across Asia, leading to widespread declines in stock indices.
