Asian stock markets experienced a downturn on Thursday, with South Korea’s Kospi leading the decline by plunging 6.6%. This significant drop was primarily driven by an unexpected interest rate hike from the Bank of Korea, which exerted pressure on the market. Technology stocks were particularly hard hit, with notable losses for SK Hynix, which fell 11.2%, and Samsung Electronics, which saw an 8.2% decrease.
Elsewhere in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index fell by 2.9%, largely due to declines in companies connected to the semiconductor sector. Among those affected were Kioxia, Tokyo Electron, Advantest, and SoftBank Group. Meanwhile, Taiwan’s Taiex index edged down by 0.3% as investors awaited the earnings report from chipmaker TSMC, and China’s Shanghai Composite suffered a 0.9% decline. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 also ended the day with minor losses.
Contrasting with the broader regional trend, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose by 1.7%. This upward movement was buoyed by gains in Alibaba, following the approval of Apple Intelligence’s AI service in China, which utilizes Alibaba’s Qwen model.
In the commodities market, oil prices saw a slight dip, though they remained relatively high due to ongoing geopolitical tensions. Brent crude decreased by 0.4% to $84.55 per barrel, while US crude slipped 0.2% to $79.34 per barrel. Concerns over potential disruptions to shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz continued to exert upward pressure on oil prices.
On the other side of the globe, US stock markets enjoyed a positive session the previous night. The boost came from encouraging inflation data and robust corporate earnings, which contributed to the upward momentum in American markets.