Asian markets resume their fall, with tech stocks leading the way

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Asian stock markets lost ground in early trading Monday following Friday’s regional bounce that eased last week’s pain. Japan’s Nikkei fell more than 1% following its worst week in right months, while indexes in Hong Kong and Taiwan also dropped more than 1%.

Defensive stocks were down early in Japan. Near session lows in the early going, the Nikkei














NIK, -1.39%












 was last down 1.3%. The financial sector was hit particularly hard, with Mitsubishi UFJ














8306, -2.07%












  and Mizuho Financial














8411, -1.60%












  down around 2%. Sharp losses were also felt by Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing














9983, -4.53%












 and electronics giant Sharp














6753, -1.92%












  . SoftBank














9984, -5.47%












  tumbled more than 5% over worries about its close investment ties to the Saudi government in the wake of a journalist’s disappearance. That came as the yen














USDJPY, -0.09%












  was near session highs, with the dollar easing to ¥112.16 from about ¥112.25 earlier.

Hong Kong stocks also slid following Friday’s bounce. The Hang Seng














HSI, -1.01%












  was off about 1%, led by tech declines. Tencent














0700, -2.57%












  dropped 2.5% and smartphone-component maker AAC Tech














2018, -5.07%












  fell more than 4%.

Markets in mainland China were mixed, with the Shanghai Composite














SHCOMP, -0.62%












  down 0.3% but the smaller-cap Shenzhen Composite














399106, -0.16%












  up 0.4%.

Tech stocks also weighed in Taiwan’s Taiex














Y9999, -1.22%












 , as Taiwan Semiconductor














2330, -2.11%












 declined more than 2%. South Korea’s Kospi














SEU, -0.44%












  was down 0.3%, with index heavyweights Samsung














005930, -0.80%












 and SK Hynix














000660, -2.49%












  sinking.

Australia’s ASX 200














XJO, -1.12%












  was down more than 1%, with financials and materials dragging down the market. Commonwealth Bank of Australia














CBA, -2.01%












 , Australia and New Zealand Banking Group














ANZ, -1.85%












  and Westpac Banking














WBC, -1.42%












  were all down more than 1%, while mining giants Rio Tinto














RIO, -0.94%












  and BHP Billiton














BHP, -1.52%












  fell around 1.5%. New Zealand’s benchmark














NZ50GR, +0.04%












  was about flat after its worst week in 8½ years.

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Source : MTV