Asian shares fall, affected by sharp losses on Wall Street

Asian stocks fell after a volatile session on Wall Street that saw widespread losses in stocks and safe-haven assets. MSCI’s Asian regional share index fell further from the record closing level set earlier this week, with Japanese shares leading the decline. The Nasdaq 100 lost 1% after poor forecasts from Texas Instruments and a 10% drop in Netflix. In extended trading, Tesla shares fell after its profit fell below estimates despite the increase in sales. Renewed trade tensions raise market anxiety. Concerns rose in markets after the Donald Trump administration said it was considering imposing restrictions on software exports to China, sparking new trade tensions. In the United States, the assets favored by individual traders who rely on momentum suffered the biggest losses, including precious metals, cryptocurrencies and artificial intelligence companies. “Businesses that have driven momentum across asset classes are now starting to unwind,” said Dylan Wu, a strategist at Pepperstone Group Ltd. “The biggest risk comes from earnings season; strong results could dampen sentiment, but any disappointments, especially from growth or tech stocks, could exacerbate the current decline.” Gold falls, oil jumps Gold fell for a third day, heading for the $4,000 an ounce level, while oil prices jumped more than 2% after the United States announced the imposition of sanctions on Russia’s biggest oil producer, in the latest effort to pressure President Vladimir Putin to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine. In currency markets, the yen fell for a fifth straight session against the dollar, while the yield on 10-year US Treasury bonds steadied after falling one basis point to 3.95% on Wednesday. The $13 billion offering of 20-year bonds met strong demand, while the dollar index remained nearly flat. Also read: Washington punishes the Russian oil sector, targets “Rosneft” and “Lukoil.” Share indices in Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland posted limited declines. Chinese officials are wrapping up their fourth meeting in Beijing, with a statement expected to be issued later today. Awaiting the outcome of the trade talks, US Treasury Secretary Scott Besent will meet with his Chinese counterparts over the weekend, ahead of the upcoming talks between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Ryota Otsuka, a strategist at Toyo Securities, said: “Markets are very worried about the tension between the US and China, and although the case may be just another TACO case (an expression meaning that Trump always backs down), and even if everyone realizes that this is the usual pattern, there are still those who will react before the situation calms down.” Also read: One billion dollars a day… A Chinese pressure card in the face of Trump’s trade war. The Japanese Prime Minister approves measures to support the economy in Japan. The new prime minister, Sanae Takaishi, has ordered the introduction of a new package of economic measures to help families and companies face persistent inflation. Shares of Disco Corp. and Tokyo Electron Ltd. fell more than 4%, leading losses on the Nikkei 225 index. In South Korea, the Bank of Korea kept the key interest rate unchanged to prevent a recovery in the housing market. US companies beat expectations At a time when the rise in US stocks has slowed, the percentage of companies that beat profit expectations this quarter is the highest since 2021. Although most S&P 500 companies usually beat expectations, this season is special because analysts have raised the ceiling of estimates. A mood of caution prevails in the markets ahead of the release of US consumer price index data on Friday, after it was delayed due to the federal government shutdown. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve has stopped receiving private sector employment data from an independent provider, adding to policymakers’ lack of real-time information during the ongoing government shutdown. Payroll services company ADP Research stopped providing the central bank with this data, which covers about 20% of the US private sector workforce, after a speech by Fed member Christopher Waller in late August in which he referred to these statistics.