Asian stock markets experienced a general downturn on Thursday, with South Korea’s Kospi index suffering a steep decline of 6.6%. This downturn was influenced by an unexpected interest rate increase from the Bank of Korea and significant losses in technology stocks, notably an 11.2% drop in SK Hynix and an 8.2% fall in Samsung Electronics.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index decreased by 2.9%, driven lower by falling shares in chip-related companies such as Kioxia, Tokyo Electron, Advantest, and SoftBank Group. Taiwan’s Taiex index edged down by 0.3% in anticipation of an earnings report from chipmaker TSMC. Meanwhile, China’s Shanghai Composite saw a 0.9% decline, and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 also finished slightly down.
Contrasting the regional trend, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose by 1.7%, buoyed by Alibaba’s gains following the approval of Apple Intelligence’s AI service in China, which utilizes Alibaba’s Qwen model.
Oil prices saw a slight decrease, yet they remained high amid ongoing geopolitical tensions, particularly concerning potential shipping disruptions through the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude dipped by 0.4% to $84.55 per barrel, while US crude decreased by 0.2% to $79.34 per barrel.
In contrast, US stock markets closed higher in the previous session, bolstered by moderating inflation figures and robust corporate earnings.
