Asian shares plunged after weaker-than-expected US factory data ignited fears of a worsening economic outlook.
Tokyo’s Nikkei headed for its worst day in over four years, influenced by a slide on Wall Street, a surging yen, and uncertainty over potential interest rate hikes by the Bank of Japan.
Other Asian markets also experienced declines following the weak US economic data, which were compounded by a Big Tech sell-off on Wall Street due to underwhelming results from Apple, Intel, and Amazon.
The Shanghai Composite Index experienced a more modest loss of 0.5%, closing at 2,919.32.
In Seoul, the Kospi dropped 3.3% to 2,687.31, while Taiwan’s Taiex fell 3.8%, both markets significantly impacted due to their large technology sectors.
South Korea’s Samsung Electronics fell 3.6%, while SK Hynix, another major chip and components manufacturer, dropped 8.6%. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the world’s largest chip maker, saw a loss of 5.1%.
Elsewhere in Asia, Australia’s S&P/ASX fell 2.1% to 7,940.70, the Sensex in India declined by 1%, and Bangkok’s SET slipped by 0.4%.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.2%, closing at 40,347.97. The S&P 500 lost 1.4%, ending at 5,446.68, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 2.3%, closing at 17,194.15, amid a sell-off of most of the “Magnificent Seven” tech stocks.
The yield on benchmark 10-year US Treasury bonds decreased to 3.97% from 4.04% late on Wednesday and 4.70% in April.
