What's Affecting Markets Today
Asian Markets Slide as AI-Linked Stocks Trigger Sharp Sell-Off
Asian equity markets fell sharply on Wednesday, led by a steep decline in Japan as investors unwound positions in AI-related stocks. The Nikkei 225 slumped 4.65%, dropping back below the 50,000 mark, while the Topix shed more than 3%. SoftBank Group, a key proxy for AI and tech sentiment in Japan, plunged over 14% amid a broad regional tech rout mirroring heavy losses in U.S. peers.
South Korea’s markets also weakened, with the Kospi down more than 2% as semiconductor leaders Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix dropped 7% and 8% respectively. The tech-focused Kosdaq index fell 5.39%. The Korean won slid as much as 0.6% to 1,449.50 per U.S. dollar, its weakest level since April.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng retreated 1.36%, while mainland China’s CSI 300 declined 0.9%. Losses were more modest in Australia, where the S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.77%.
Strategists noted that the pullback followed cautionary remarks from the CEOs of Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, who warned investors to expect a market drawdown over the next two years, signalling a potential cooling of the recent “everything rally.”
ASX Stocks
ASX 200 8,790.50 (-0.26%)
ASX Slips as Miners and Tech Weigh on Sentiment
The Australian sharemarket declined on Wednesday, pressured by weakness in mining and technology stocks as investors reassessed the interest rate outlook. The S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.3% to 8790.1 by mid-afternoon, positioning the index for its sixth loss in seven sessions. Sentiment softened after RBA governor Michele Bullock cautioned that inflationary pressures may prove more persistent, reducing expectations for further rate cuts this cycle.
Tech shares led the retreat, mirroring a pullback on Wall Street amid concerns that valuations have run ahead of fundamentals. NextDC and Codan both shed more than 5%, while Life360 fell 4.4%. Sector heavyweights TechnologyOne, Xero and WiseTech Global lost around 2%.
Materials also dragged the index lower, with BHP down 0.7%, Fortescue 3.1% and Rio Tinto 2%, as iron ore prices slipped on worries that China’s Simandou project could reshape global supply. Gold and coal miners also weakened, although Woodside rose 0.8% after flagging plans to lift annual net operating cash flow to US$9 billion by the early 2030s.
Among individual movers, Medibank gained 1.5% on a $159m acquisition, while Tyro, Goodman Group and Nanosonics declined.
Leaders
AIZ Air New Zealand Ltd (+2.89%)
CKF Collins Foods Ltd (+2.57%)
FBU Fletcher Building Ltd (+2.41%)
ASX ASX Ltd (+1.85%)
BXB Brambles Ltd (+1.84%)
Laggards
EOS Electro Optic Systems Holdings Ltd (-10.77%)
MP1 Megaport Ltd (-9.26%)
DRO Droneshield Ltd (-9.26%)
PDN Paladin Energy Ltd (-8.93%)
IEL Idp Education Ltd (-8.33%)