SINGAPORE – Shares in Asia fell on Monday as major markets in the region experienced sharp losses of more than 2% amid a tech sell-off.
The Nikkei 225 in Japan fell 2.8% and shares of the SoftBank Group conglomerate fell more than 4%. The Topix index fell 2.17%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index also fell 2.46%. Shares of Tencent were down 2.67% while Alibaba was down 4.5%, the Hang Seng Tech Index was down 2.67%.
Kospi of South Korea fell 2.75%, led by technology stocks such as Samsung Electronics, which fell 2.19% while Kakao fell 3.87%.
In Taiwan, Taiex fell 2.4% and TSMC shares fell 2.45%.
The implication that US inflation has not peaked; and who seems to play peek (peak) -a-boo; puts the U.S. Fed directly at a higher limit, committed to a higher magnitude of rate hikes possibly over a longer period.
Lavanya Venkateswaran
Market economist, Mizuho Bank
The Shanghai composite in mainland China decreased by about 0.5%, while the Shenzhen component remained stable.
MSCI’s broader Asia-Pacific stock index outside Japan traded nearly 2% lower.
Losses in Asia occurred as U.S. Treasury yields rose in the morning of Asian trading hours. The 10-year benchmark Treasury yield rose to 3.195%, while the 2-year Treasury yield rose to 3.181%.
Australian markets are closed on Mondays for public holidays.
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At the end of this week, a large amount of Chinese economic data will be released on Wednesday, including industrial production and May retail sales.
The US Fed is also expected to announce its decision on interest rates later this week. It comes after warmer-than-expected US inflation figures for May.
“For the markets, the implication that US inflation has not peaked, and that it seems to be playing a (peak) -a-boo look, directly puts the US Fed at a higher limit, committed with a higher magnitude of rate hikes possibly over a longer period, “Mizuho Bank economist Lavanya Venkateswaran wrote in a note Monday.
“It is important, it is not yet clear when it will be due to a number of factors, including tensions between Ukraine and Russia and China, which is sinking into a ‘zero covid’ policy, which will continue to put upward pressure on prices. of food and energy while maintaining supply. limited chains “.
The yen is approaching 135
The Japanese yen was trading at $ 134.81, just below the 135 level after weakening from levels below 132 against the dollar last week.
The US dollar index, which tracks the green dollar against a basket of its peers, was at 104,501 after recently crossing the 104 level.
The Australian dollar was at $ 0.7007 after falling above $ 0.72 last week.
Oil prices were lower in the morning on the Asian schedule, with Brent crude oil’s international benchmark futures falling 1.84% to $ 119.77 a barrel. U.S. crude oil futures fell 1.84% to $ 118.44 a barrel.