SEOUL, November 14 (AJP) - Asian stock markets declined broadly on Friday morning, dragged lower by renewed concerns over U.S. interest rates and a downturn in global technology shares.
In South Korea, the benchmark Kospi dropped 2.5 percent to 4,066.30 as of 11:22 a.m., while the tech-heavy Kosdaq slipped 1.3 percent to 906.20. The country’s three most valuable companies — each with a market capitalization exceeding 100 trillion won, or about $68.6 billion — all traded lower.
Samsung Electronics fell 3.9 percent to 98,800 won and SK hynix tumbled 5.9 percent to 576,000 won, deepening losses after modest declines the previous day.
LG Energy Solution, the country’s third-largest company by market value, shed 1.2 percent. Hyundai Motor slipped 1.4 percent and Kia edged down 0.3 percent.
HYBE, the entertainment agency behind the K-pop group NewJeans, gave back 0.3 percent following a sharp rally on Thursday after the group formally returned to its subsidiary ADOR. HYBE, best known globally for managing BTS, has been a bellwether for investor sentiment in South Korea’s cultural and entertainment sectors.
“The local market is under pressure from the Fed’s hawkish comments, fading expectations for a December rate cut and a pullback in U.S. A.I. stocks,” said Han Ji-young, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities. “Still, some rotation into other sectors such as biotech and low-price-to-book stocks could help limit downside pressure.”
Japan’s Nikkei 225 also declined, falling 1.6 percent to 50,486.68 as of 11:23 a.m. SoftBank Group slid 7.4 percent after a drop in the previous session, while Toyota, Honda and Sony all traded lower.
The regionwide selloff followed a weak session on Wall Street, where major indexes sank as investors recalibrated expectations for interest rate cuts. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 1.7 percent, the S&P 500 dropped 1.7 percent and the Nasdaq composite slid 2.3 percent. Technology stocks led the decline: Nvidia dropped 3.6 percent and Tesla plunged 6.6 percent. The PHLX Semiconductor Index lost 3.7 percent.
Although the United States ended its 43-day government shutdown this week, investors remained cautious as the release of delayed economic data — including key inflation and labor reports — threatened to add volatility. Federal Reserve officials also struck a hawkish tone, signaling reluctance to move quickly on rate cuts.
In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite slipped 0.2 percent to 4,023.00, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 1 percent to 26,805.55 by late morning.
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