Asian shares fell on Friday after a broad sell-off on Wall Street dragged U.S. shares down, and Hong Kong’s benchmark stocks fell more than 2 percent as investors remained wary of China’s plans to bail out its struggling property sector.
U.S. futures rose, while oil prices fell.
Chinese officials told reporters in Beijing The ruling Communist Party, He detailed a comprehensive blueprint for making China a technology leader, building its financial markets and improving living standards.
But the bulk of the information remains relatively vague, with more details expected to emerge in the coming weeks.In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index fell 2.1% to 17,401.86, while the Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.1% to 2,974.62.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.4% to 39,979.79, South Korea’s KOSPI dropped 1.6% to 2,778.31, and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 1.1% to 7,949.50.
In Taiwan, shares in computer chip maker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) fell 2.4%, extending losses after reports the United States may tighten restrictions on sales of semiconductors and equipment used in their manufacturing and testing to China, helping Taiwan’s index fall 1.8%.
U.S.-listed shares of industry giant TSMC rose 0.4% on Thursday after the company reported its latest quarterly profit that beat analysts’ expectations, recovering from an 8% drop the previous day but after a period of swings between gains and losses.
The tech sector’s sell-off this week has sent U.S. and Asian markets sliding after big gains.
European stock indexes fell on Thursday. The European Central Bank kept its key interest rate unchanged.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 lost 0.8%, to 5,544.59, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1.3%, to 40,665.02 and the Nasdaq lost 0.7%, to 17,871.22.
The same happened the previous day when the Nasdaq fell. Worst loss since 2022Big tech stocks led the market lower. Apple lost 2%; Amazon Microsoft was the S&P 500’s three heaviest stocks, down 0.7%.
AP Business Correspondent Seth Stell reports on Thursday’s AP Markets in a Minute.
However, shares of semiconductor manufacturers remained stable. NVIDIA It rose 2.9%, bringing its annual increase to nearly 145%.
Earlier this year, Nvidia and several other stocks rose. As “The Magnificent Seven” With stock prices soaring, that may have been enough to support the broader market. The craze for artificial intelligence technologyWhile other stocks are struggling under the weight of rising interest rates and slowing economic growth.
Thursday’s declines hit many sectors of the market. Small and mid-cap stocks, which had been surging after lagging their larger rivals by a wide margin, fell more than the rest of the market. The Russell 2000 Index fell 1.8% after gaining more than 1% in five of the previous six days.
Most S&P 500 stocks fell, with Domino’s Pizza the biggest drop, down 13.6%, despite the company reporting spring profits that beat analyst expectations. The pizza chain temporarily suspended its estimates for how many stores it will open globally in the long term.
Darden RestaurantThe company, which owns chains including Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, fell 3% after it said it would buy Chuy’s Tex-Mex in a cash deal valuing the chain at $605 million. Chuy’s shares rose 47.8%.
A variety of reports on the U.S. economy were released on Thursday. One report stated: More workers are filing for unemployment benefits Payrolls last week exceeded economists’ expectations, potentially signaling a softening labor market, but the numbers are still low compared to historical standards. A separate report said manufacturing in the Mid-Atlantic region is growing much stronger than economists expected.
Recent encouraging reports Inflation is Expectations are high The Federal Reserve may start easing interest rates The Fed cut its benchmark interest rate to 1.6% from 1.5% after keeping it at its highest level in more than two decades in September. Investors are hoping the economy will stay in “Goldilocks” shape — not hot enough to put upward pressure on inflation, but not cold enough to tip the economy into recession.
Expectations of stronger corporate profit growth also helped drive the market higher.
In other trading early Friday, benchmark U.S. crude oil fell 51 cents to $80.79 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Brent crude, the international standard, fell 37 cents to $84.74 a barrel.
The U.S. dollar rose to 157.42 yen from 157.37 yen. The euro fell to 1.0890 dollars from 1.0897 dollars.
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AP Business Writer Stan Cho contributed.
