Manila, Oct 10: Asian shares mostly fell on Friday, after a respite from Wall Street’s recent feverish rally. The price of gold also pulled back from record highs following recent torrid runs.
The future for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were both up less than 0.1 per cent. Oil prices slipped.
Nearly all Asian indexes fell except for South Korea’s Kospi, which climbed 1.7 per cent to 3,610.60 as trading reopened after a holiday. India’s BSE Sensex also gained, adding 0.4 per cent.
The Kospi’s surge was fuelled by a rally of tech shares including SK Hynix, which rose 8.1 per cent. Samsung Electronics added 6.2 per cent, boosted by news that Nvidia-backed Reflection AI had raised USD 2 billion in funding, increasing its market value to USD 8 billion.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed 1 per cent lower to 48,088.80, pulling back from big gains the previous day after data showed producer prices rose more than expected in September.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index shed 1.8 per cent to 26,277.84, while the Shanghai Composite index slipped nearly 1 per cent to 3,894.56.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slid more than 0.1 per cent to 8,958.30. Taiwan’s stock market was closed for a holiday.
On Thursday, the S&P 500 slipped 0.3 per cent from its latest all-time high for just its second loss in the last 10 days, closing at 6,735.11. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.5 per cent to 46,358.42, and the Nasdaq composite edged down by 0.1 per cent to 23,024.63.
Gold also fell following its stellar rally this year, losing 2.4 per cent to drop back below USD 4,000 per ounce, while Treasury yields held relatively steady in the bond market. They’re taking a moment following big runs driven in large part by expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates to support the economy.
Financial markets have been climbing so relentlessly, including a 35 per cent leap for the S&P 500 from a low in April, that worries are mounting that prices may have shot too high. Concerns are particularly strong about the frenzy lifting stocks related to artificial-intelligence technology.
Dell Technologies sank 5.2 per cent for the biggest loss in the S&P 500, but that only trimmed its surge since talking up its AI growth opportunities at an investment conference earlier in the week. The stock was still up nearly 11 per cent for the week so far.
Tesla also weighed on the market after falling 0.7 per cent. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened a preliminary evaluation of its “Full Self-Driving” system due to safety concerns.
Those losses helped offset a 4.3 per cent ascent for Delta Air Lines, which reported a stronger profit for the summer than analysts expected.
Delta also forecasted a range for profit during the year’s final three months whose midpoint topped analysts’ estimates. Its president, Glen Hauenstein, highlighted a broad-based acceleration in sales trends over the last six weeks, including for domestic business travel.
Such corporate reports have gained importance since they offer insights into the strength of the US economy after US government shutdown is delayed reports that usually serve that purpose.
This is the second week where the US government has not published its update on unemployment claims, for example, a report that usually helps guide Wall Street’s trading each Thursday.
In other dealings early Friday, US benchmark crude oil shed 18 cents to USD 61.33 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, edged down 19 cents to USD 65.03 per barrel.
The US dollar fell to 152.61 Japanese yen from 153.05 yen. The euro barely budged, at USD 1.1569. (AP)
