What's Affecting Markets Today
Asian Markets Tumble
Asia-Pacific markets tumbled on Wednesday, led by Japan’s Nikkei 225, which fell 4.15% after a U.S. tech stock sell-off and weak economic data reignited recession fears. The broader Topix declined 3.55%, with semiconductor stocks leading losses. Renesas Electronics plunged 9%, while Tokyo Electron and Advantest dropped 8.73% and 7.7%, respectively. Softbank Group, which owns Arm, fell 7.8%.
South Korea’s Kospi lost 3.05%, and the Kosdaq dropped 3.8%, with Samsung Electronics down 3.59% and SK Hynix falling 7.72%. Taiwan’s Weighted Index slid 4.46%, with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company losing 5.21% and Hon Hai Precision Industry down 3.51%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 declined nearly 2%, driven by weaker oil prices. Australia’s Q2 GDP growth was 0.2% quarter-on-quarter, slightly below expectations. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 1.2%, and mainland China’s CSI 300 slipped 0.58%. Chinese chip stocks weakened, with SMIC down 1.95%, as China’s services PMI for August dropped to 51.6, signaling slower expansion.
ASX Stocks
ASX 200 - 7,949.6 (-1.9%)
Key Highlights:
Leaders
ORA Orora Ltd (+7.40%)
ABB Aussie Broadband Ltd (+4.62%)
CEN Contact Energy Ltd (+4.58%)
NAN Nanosonics Ltd (+4.20%)
MCY Mercury NZ Ltd (+3.33%)
Laggards
SPR Spartan Resources Ltd (-9.85%)
DYL Deep Yellow Ltd (-9.07%)
CSC Capstone Copper Corp (-8.30%)
DEG De Grey Mining Ltd (-8.30%)
FMG Fortescue Ltd (-7.97%)
