Mixed picture on Asian exchanges: tech stock selloff continues, oil gets cheaper

Concerns over the durability of the AI boom continue to weigh on stock markets. President Trump’s decision to delay new sanctions on Russia has pushed oil prices lower.

Asian stock markets ended Monday with mixed results as volatility in technology shares continued. US stock futures rose ahead of a new week of earnings reports from major American companies.

Investor doubts about the durability of the artificial intelligence boom have recently triggered a selloff in tech stocks from Asia to Wall Street, putting downward pressure on markets.

Asian markets

South Korea: The Kospi index rose 1.1% to 5,729.58 after last week’s sharp decline. The index has lost more than 18% over the past month. Samsung Electronics shares gained 0.7%, while memory chipmaker SK Hynix fell 0.9%.

Japan: The Nikkei 225 index slipped 0.8% to 64,799.03 points. Chip equipment maker Tokyo Electron lost 2.1%, and OpenAI investor SoftBank Group lost 3.6%.

China and Hong Kong: The Hong Kong exchange was closed for a holiday. China’s economy grew a better-than-expected 4.5% in the July-September quarter, lifting the Shanghai Composite index by 0.2% to 3,722.20. Shares of CXMT, China’s leading memory chipmaker, fell more than 7% despite the company forecasting high profit for the first nine months.

Taiwan: The Taiex index declined 1%. Shares of TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, fell 0.6%.

Australia: The S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.3% to 8,832.20.

India: The Sensex index dipped 0.1%.

Indonesia: The country’s main stock index had plunged more than 11% on Friday after index provider MSCI warned it could downgrade the country’s status from “emerging market.” On Monday, the index lost another 5%, falling to its lowest level since 2020.

Wall Street on Friday

On Friday, the S&P 500 fell 1.1%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 2.1%.

This week, investors are awaiting reports from US companies including Meta, Netflix, General Motors, Tesla and IBM. Strong corporate earnings have recently been one of the main factors supporting US stocks.

Oil gets cheaper

Oil prices fell in early Monday trading. Brent crude dropped 1.8% to $107.86 per barrel, while the US benchmark crude fell 1.6% to $97.43.

The decline followed US President Donald Trump’s signing of an order on Friday delaying the entry into force of broad new sanctions on Russia by several days. The sanctions also covered Russian energy. The decision disappointed Ukraine and could lead to increased Russian energy exports.

Earlier this month, Trump said he had reached a diesel fuel agreement with Russia to limit rising fuel prices in the US ahead of the November 3 midterm elections.

Despite the decline, oil prices remain higher than before the Iran war. Tensions in the Middle East, including uncertainty over oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, are heightening global supply risks and putting upward pressure on prices.

Currency market

The US dollar slipped from 158.10 yen to 158.09 yen, while the euro fell from $1.1234 to $1.1231.