Asian stock markets saw a general downturn on Thursday, with South Korea’s Kospi leading the decline with a significant 6.6% drop. The downturn in South Korea was primarily driven by an unexpected interest rate hike from the Bank of Korea, coupled with substantial losses in technology stocks. Notably, SK Hynix plummeted by 11.2%, and Samsung Electronics experienced an 8.2% decrease.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 also suffered, falling by 2.9% as several chip-related companies faced declines. Among those affected were Kioxia, Tokyo Electron, Advantest, and SoftBank Group. Meanwhile, Taiwan’s Taiex edged down by 0.3% ahead of an anticipated earnings report from the chipmaker TSMC. China’s Shanghai Composite saw a 0.9% decrease, and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 finished slightly lower as well.
In contrast, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index defied the regional trend, rising by 1.7%. This uptick was bolstered by gains in Alibaba, following the approval of Apple Intelligence’s AI service in China, which utilizes Alibaba’s Qwen model. The localized success in Hong Kong provided a rare bright spot in an otherwise downbeat day for Asian markets.
Despite the geopolitical tensions between the United States and Iran, oil prices eased slightly. Brent crude saw a minor decline of 0.4% to reach $84.55 per barrel, while US crude dropped 0.2% to $79.34 per barrel. However, ongoing concerns about potential disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz continued to exert upward pressure on oil prices.
Meanwhile, US stock markets ended on a positive note overnight, buoyed by signs of easing inflation and robust corporate earnings. This contrasted with the broader Asian market sentiment and provided some optimism amid the global economic uncertainty.