Asian stock markets saw a decline on Thursday, led by a significant drop in South Korea’s Kospi, which fell over 4%. This drop followed losses from major tech companies, including memory chipmaker SK Hynix. Meanwhile, oil prices remained stable, with Brent crude trading near $79 per barrel. Uncertainty surrounding the U.S. conflict with Iran continues to affect markets despite potential progress in reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
Investors are anticipating the U.S. jobs report due on Friday, which may impact the markets further. Stephen Innes from SPI Asset Management noted, “Asia’s chip selloff looks like a combination of profit-taking and risk reduction ahead of Friday’s nonfarm payroll report.”
Meanwhile, U.S. stocks have generally been on the rise due to strong corporate profits and expectations of continued growth. However, Asian benchmarks, especially companies linked to the artificial intelligence sector, have faced periods of selling. SK Hynix shares dropped 9.7%, and Samsung Electronics saw a 6.1% decline, contributing to the Kospi’s 4.5% decrease to 6,306.40. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell by 1.2% to 65,538.44.
In other Asian markets, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng decreased by 1.8% to 25,463.51, while China’s Shanghai Composite index remained nearly unchanged at 3,878.92. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 experienced a slight increase of 0.5%.
U.S. President Donald Trump announced potential progress toward reopening the Strait of Hormuz, yet the conflict has continued to disrupt global oil supplies. Brent crude prices declined slightly by 0.3% to $79.24 per barrel, while U.S. benchmark crude dropped 0.4% to $74.93 per barrel.
On Wednesday, the S&P 500 saw a 0.2% decline from its all-time high, closing at 7,723.55. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 0.5% to 54,349.12, while the Nasdaq Composite slipped by 0.8% to 26,363.44.
Among major tech firms, Alphabet, Google’s parent company, and Microsoft both experienced losses. Alphabet fell by 4%, and Microsoft declined by 1.1%. Despite the setback, the S&P 500 has generally been rising as companies wrap up their latest earnings reports, with expectations of 50% profit growth among reporting companies.
Walt Disney Co. reported a 3.6% rise after surpassing Wall Street’s profit forecasts, fueled by revenue from “Toy Story 5” and its theme parks. Booking Holdings also saw growth, with a 6.6% increase following strong travel demand in the latest quarter.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX experienced a 13.6% drop after revealing increased spending on artificial intelligence in its first quarterly report as a public company. However, this announcement boosted semiconductor leader Nvidia by 3.4%, with SpaceX opting to exclusively use Nvidia’s chips for its AI technology.
Inflation concerns continue to shadow markets and the Federal Reserve. The central bank maintains a steady key benchmark rate while monitoring economic impacts. The exchange rate saw the dollar shift to 157.73 yen from 157.77 yen, and the euro decreased to $1.1549 from $1.1555.
Associated Press writer Damian J. Troise contributed to this report.