{"id":127294,"date":"2026-05-18T11:39:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T07:39:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/?p=127294"},"modified":"2026-05-18T11:46:03","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T07:46:03","slug":"asian-stocks-tumble-as-nvidia-earnings-loom-and-trumps-time-is-ticking-iran-warning-spooks-markets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/asian-stocks-tumble-as-nvidia-earnings-loom-and-trumps-time-is-ticking-iran-warning-spooks-markets\/05\/18\/market-updates\/","title":{"rendered":"Asian Stocks Tumble as Nvidia Earnings Loom and Trump&#8217;s &#8220;Time Is Ticking&#8221; Iran Warning Spooks Markets"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><\/h1>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Key Takeaways<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Broad regional sell-off:<\/strong> Most Asian markets fell Monday, with tech leading losses ahead of Nvidia&#8217;s earnings.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Nikkei drops 1%:<\/strong> Japan&#8217;s index slid, with TOPIX off 0.8%.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Hang Seng plunges 1.7%:<\/strong> Hong Kong&#8217;s tech sub-index tumbled 2.5%, leading the regional decline.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>China weakens:<\/strong> CSI 300 fell 1%, Shanghai Composite eased 0.5%.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>ASX 200 dives 1.6%:<\/strong> Australia&#8217;s index was among the worst performers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Nvidia earnings the test:<\/strong> Wednesday&#8217;s report will signal whether the AI rally can extend.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>UAE nuclear plant hit:<\/strong> Drone strikes caused a fire at the Barakah facility over the weekend.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Saudi Arabia intercepts drones:<\/strong> The kingdom shot down three drones over the weekend.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Trump&#8217;s harsh warning:<\/strong> &#8220;Time is ticking&#8221; for Iran, with the president threatening &#8220;there won&#8217;t be anything left of them.&#8221;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Oil rises:<\/strong> Crude prices climbed as Hormuz stayed largely shut.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Samsung defies trend:<\/strong> KOSPI edged 0.2% higher as Samsung rebounded on labor talks progress.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Strike order looms:<\/strong> A South Korean court warned of 100 million won per day in fines if the Samsung union doesn&#8217;t comply with court orders.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>China data disappoints:<\/strong> April industrial output rose just 4.1% (vs. 6.0% expected); retail sales gained only 0.2% (vs. 2.0% forecast).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Most Asian stock markets fell on Monday, with technology shares leading losses ahead of earnings from AI heavyweight Nvidia later this week, while rising oil prices and escalating Middle East tensions dampened investor sentiment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Wall Street ended lower on Friday amid inflation worries linked to surging oil prices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>U.S. stock index futures also fell during Asian hours on Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Tech Losses, Iran Tensions Drag; Nvidia Results Awaited<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Investors are now focused on Nvidia&#8217;s earnings on Wednesday for clues on whether the artificial intelligence-driven rally in global equities can be sustained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Japan&#8217;s Nikkei 225 slipped 1%, while the broader TOPIX index fell 0.8%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hong Kong&#8217;s Hang Seng declined 1.7%, with the Hang Seng TECH sub-index dropping 2.5%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>China&#8217;s blue-chip Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 fell 1%, while the Shanghai Composite index edged 0.5% lower.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Geopolitical tensions also weighed on sentiment after the United Arab Emirates reported a drone strike that caused a fire at a nuclear facility, while Saudi Arabia said it intercepted three drones over the weekend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>U.S. President Donald Trump warned Iran that &#8220;time is ticking&#8221; to reach a deal with Washington, saying &#8220;they better get moving, FAST, or there won&#8217;t be anything left of them.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Oil prices rose on Monday as the Strait of Hormuz remained largely shut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Australia&#8217;s S&amp;P\/ASX 200 fell 1.6%, while Singapore&#8217;s Straits Times Index dipped 0.6%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Futures tied to India&#8217;s Nifty 50 fell 1%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Samsung Shares Rally on Some Respite from Union Issues<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>South Korea&#8217;s KOSPI edged 0.2% higher, outperforming regional peers as shares in Samsung Electronics rebounded amid signs of progress in labor negotiations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Samsung and its South Korean labor union kicked off a new round of talks on Monday, with the government mediating the discussions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A South Korean court also warned it would fine Samsung Electronics&#8217; union about 100 million won per day if it failed to comply with court orders related to strike activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">China Data Disappoints<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Investors also assessed data showing China&#8217;s economic momentum weakened in April.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>China&#8217;s industrial output rose 4.1% year-on-year, missing expectations for 6.0% growth. Retail sales increased just 0.2%, sharply below forecasts for a 2.0% rise \u2014 underscoring persistent weakness in consumer demand.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways Broad regional sell-off: Most Asian markets fell Monday, with tech leading losses ahead of Nvidia&#8217;s earnings. Nikkei drops 1%: Japan&#8217;s index slid, with TOPIX off 0.8%. Hang Seng plunges 1.7%: Hong Kong&#8217;s tech sub-index tumbled 2.5%, leading the regional decline. China weakens: CSI 300 fell 1%, Shanghai Composite eased 0.5%. ASX 200 dives &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":31994,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6827,49,39,36],"tags":[6849,6851],"class_list":["post-127294","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-daily-economic-reports","category-economic-reports","category-global-stock-markets","category-market-updates","tag-asia","tag-stocks"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127294","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=127294"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127294\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":127295,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127294\/revisions\/127295"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31994"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=127294"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=127294"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=127294"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}