Asia-Pacific markets traded mostly lower on Thursday as investors rotated out of semiconductor stocks, extending a technology-led sell-off that weighed on Wall Street overnight.
By 11:45 am AEST (1:45 am GMT), Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.1%, Japan's Nikkei 225 had fallen 1.2%, while South Korea's KOSPI 200 dropped 3.1%.
Technology stocks led the declines across the region, with Samsung Electronics tumbling 5.3% and SK Hynix sliding 7% as Asia's largest chipmakers came under pressure following profit-taking in the global semiconductor sector.
Among data releases, South Korea's annual inflation rate accelerated to 3.2% in June, matching market expectations and marking the fourth consecutive month of rising inflation.
The reading was the highest since December 2023 and strengthened expectations that the Bank of Korea could raise interest rates at its next policy meeting on 16 July.
In Australia, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reported the seasonally adjusted balance on goods deteriorated by A$4.401 billion to a deficit of $3.018 billion in May, well below market expectations for a $2.2 billion surplus.
The decline was driven by a $3.224 billion, or 6.9%, fall in goods exports, led by lower shipments of non-monetary gold and metal ores and minerals.
Goods imports increased by $1.177 billion, or 2.6%, reflecting stronger imports of non-industrial transport equipment, civil aircraft and confidentialised items.
The result marked Australia's second seasonally adjusted trade deficit of 2026 and the first trade deficit on an original basis since January 2018.
The weaker regional sentiment followed losses on Wall Street overnight, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.03%, the S&P 500 fell 0.2% and the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.7% as investors reduced exposure to semiconductor shares ahead of the U.S. monthly employment report.
Commodity markets were mixed. ICE Brent crude settled 1.9% lower at US$71.57 a barrel, its lowest closing level since 27 February, while spot gold rose 0.6% to finish at US$4,030.76 an ounce.
Elsewhere in the region, China's Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.4% on Wednesday to close at 4,112.4, while the CSI 300 slipped 0.4% to 4,959.0.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index remained closed for a public holiday, while India's BSE Sensex advanced 0.6% to 76,922.6.
European markets delivered a mixed performance overnight. The UK's FTSE 100 fell 0.2% to 10,478.3, Germany's DAX gained 0.2% to 25,040.3, while France's CAC 40 declined 0.8% to 8,337.3.
