Asia-Pacific markets declined at the start of the week, echoing losses following declines on Wall Street last Friday as investors took a pause from the artificial intelligence trade, with regional focus turning towards key economic data releases from China and Japan.
By around 11:30 am AEDT (12:30 am GMT), Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.7%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.0%. South Korea’s Kospi 200 underperformed, sliding 1.9%.
In Japan, the Bank of Japan’s fourth-quarter Tankan survey, which measures business sentiment among large manufacturers, came in at 15.
The reading was in line with market expectations and up from 14 previously, marking a third consecutive quarter of improvement and the strongest result since December 2021.
Attention across the region is also focused on China, which is due to release November figures for retail sales, fixed asset investment and industrial output.
On Wall Street, major U.S. benchmarks finished lower on Friday amid renewed pressure on technology stocks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5%, the S&P 500 declined around 1.1% and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.7%.
AI-related stocks led the losses, with Broadcom plunging more than 11% post-earnings, dragging on the broader market. Shares of AMD, Palantir Technologies and Micron Technology also retreated.
Commodity markets were mixed. Brent crude edged down 0.3%, hovering near seven-week lows at US$61.12 per barrel. Spot gold rose 0.5% to US$4,299.38 an ounce, settling at its highest level since 21 October.
In mainland China on Friday, equities ended higher, with the Shanghai Composite rising 0.4% to 3,889.3 and the CSI 300 gaining 0.6% to 4,581.0.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index advanced 1.8% to 25,976.8, while India’s BSE Sensex added 0.5% to 85,267.7.
European markets closed in the red at the end of last week. London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.6% to 9,649.0, Germany’s DAX slipped 0.5% to 24,186.5 and France’s CAC 40 eased 0.2% to 8,068.6.
