HONG KONG — Asian stocks fell on Wednesday after Wall Street suffered its worst day since early August. Heavyweight Nvidia fell 9.5%, leading a global slide in chip-related stocks.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 3.8% to 37,211.09, leading losses across Asia. Electronics and semiconductor company Tokyo Electron fell 7% in morning trading. South Korea’s Kospi fell 3.0% to 2,584.81, while tech giant Samsung Electronics fell 3.1%. Taiwan’s Taiex lost 4.0%, dragged down by heavyweight Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, which was down 4.7%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 2.1% to 7,933.40 after data on Wednesday showed the country’s GDP grew 1% from the second quarter of 2023, slightly above experts’ forecast. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 1.1% to 17,462.25 and the Shanghai Composite index lost 0.5% to 2,789.39.
U.S. futures were lower. Rising oil supplies pushed prices lower as Libya moved closer to resolving a dispute over control of the country’s oil revenues, meaning oil production could soon increase.
U.S. benchmark crude fell 45 cents to $69.89 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, lost 42 cents to $73.33 a barrel.
Growing concerns about the Chinese economy, the world’s largest importer of crude oil, have also added to doubts about future oil demand, especially after the recent publication of weak datawhich was dragged down by a real estate crisis and weak consumption.
The S&The P500’s heaviest entry, Nvidia, fell 9.5% on Tuesday. The stock has struggled even after the chip company exceeded high expectations for its latest earnings report. The subdued performance could reinforce criticism that Nvidia and other Big Tech stocks simply soared too high amid Wall Street’s frenzy over artificial intelligence technology. Global semiconductor-related stocks fell Wednesday.
On Tuesday is the S&P500 fell 2.1%, giving back some of the gains from a three-week winning streak that saw it the peak of his highest point ever. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 626 points, or 1.5%, from its own record set Friday, ahead of Monday’s Labor Day holiday. The Nasdaq Composite fell 3.3%, as Nvidia and other Big Tech stocks led the way lower.
Treasury yields also fell in the bond market after a report showed U.S. manufacturing contracted again in August, spluttering under the weight of high interest rates. Output has been in decline for most of the past two years, and August’s performance was worse than economists had expected.
“Demand remains weak as businesses are unwilling to invest in capital and inventory due to current federal monetary policy and election uncertainty,” said Timothy Fiore, chair of the Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing survey committee.
Other reports due later this week could show how much help the economy needs, including updates on the number of job openings U.S. employers advertised in late July and how much U.S. service companies grew last month. The highlight of the week is likely to come on Friday, when a report will show how many jobs U.S. employers added in August.
All in all, the S&The P 500 fell 119.47 points to 5,528.93. The Dow fell 626.15 points to 40,936.93 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 577.33 points to 17,136.30.
In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 3.84% from 3.91% Friday night, down from 4.70% in late April, a significant move for the bond market.
In currency trading, the US dollar was virtually unchanged at 145.48 Japanese yen. The euro was worth $1.1054, up from $1.1043.
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AP Business journalist Stan Choe contributed.