Asia report: Markets lower amid global tech sell-off

Markets in Asia were mostly lower on Monday, as traders took their cues from their Wall Street counterparts after a serious sell-off of tech stocks in the US on Friday.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 finished down 0.52% at 19,908.58, led lower by the technology sector which was under serious pressure after a 3% sell-off in New York on Friday.

Video games-focussed firm Nintendo was off 2.3% by the end of the session.

Toshiba was the stock that bucked the sector trend, however, rocketing ahead 9.41% during the session after reports Western Digital was prepared to increase its bid for the firm’s valuable memory chip division to at least $18bn.

On the economic front, core machinery orders in Japan fell 3.1% in April - much wider than the 1.3% predicted, though the measure is known to exude volatility.

The yen was stronger against the greenback, last gaining 0.43% on the US currency to JPY 109.85.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite was down 0.57% at 3,140.45, while the Shenzhen Composite slipped 1.1% to 1,836.76.

South Korea’s Kospi lost 1% to close at 2,357.87, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong was down 1.24% at 25,708.04.

In Seoul, tech giant Samsung Electronics lost 1.56% amid the sell-off, while other more domestically-focussed tech stocks also suffered.

Kakao and Naver were down 4.37% and 6.77% respectively.

On top of the negative sentiment surrounding tech stocks, investors were turning their attention to central bank policy, with the Federal Reserve set to release its latest interest rates decision later in the week in the US.

“With expectations consolidating around (the) Fed rate hike and further guidance on balance sheet reduction, dollar shorts could be generally cautious, which could support the dollar into the FOMC meeting this week,” noted Mizuho Bank senior economist Vishnu Varathan.

Both the Bank of England and the Bank of Japan were holding policy meetings in the coming days as well.

Oil prices were slightly higher during Asian trading, rebounding from a depressed five days last week.

Brent crude was last up 1.59% at $48.93 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate added 1.44% to $46.50.

Australia’s markets were closed for a long weekend, while across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 lost 0.05% to close at 7,432.74.

It was led lower by big-box retail investment firm Investore, which lost 1.5%, while construction conglomerate Fletcher was off 1.4%.

The down under dollars were mixed, with the Aussie last 0.24% stronger on the greenback at AUD 1.3253, while the Kiwi retreated 0.19% to NZD 1.3891.