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Asian stocks wobble after tech-led selloff, volatility risk highlighted

South Korean shares, which plunged 10 per cent on Tuesday in their sharpest one-day drop since March, jumped 2.2 per cent, while Japan’s Nikkei was swinging between gains and losses, last down 0.8 per cent. 

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TOKYO: Asian stocks were wobbly on Wednesday (Jun 24), a day after a global selloff in technology and semiconductor shares, with analysts cautioning about the risk of renewed volatility.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.02 per cent. South Korean shares, which plunged 10 per cent on Tuesday in their sharpest one-day drop since March, jumped 2.2 per cent, while Japan’s Nikkei was swinging between gains and losses, last down 0.8 per cent. 

“Price action in markets over the last seven trading days has been alarming, not just when it falls, but also when it rises,” said Michael McCarthy, market analyst at Moomoo Securities Australia. “When markets move so rapidly, in either direction, it’s a sign of instability.” 

Risk-off sentiment swept Wall Street overnight, tracking moves in Europe and Asia. US stocks fell on concerns about rising debt-funded AI spending and speculation that the Federal Reserve could adopt a more hawkish stance, while Treasury yields declined as investors sought the safety of government debt.

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The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.09 per cent, the S&P 500 fell 1.4 per cent, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 2.2 per cent. The yield on benchmark US 10-year notes fell 1.41 basis points to 4.493 per cent.

Oil prices extended this week’s losses, trading near four-month lows hit in the previous session, on signs that more oil tankers stranded in the Gulf since the start of the Iran war are set to move out of the Strait of Hormuz.

 Still, uncertainty remains over the durability of the accord. The US and Iran have provided conflicting accounts on what the two countries had agreed on as part of their peace deal, including key elements such as nuclear inspections and control of the Strait of Hormuz.   

The dollar’s strength has weighed heavily on the Japanese yen, which hovered near 40-year lows at 161.57 per dollar, keeping markets on edge over a potential currency intervention to prop up the battered currency. 

A summary of opinions from the Bank of Japan’s meeting this month, in which the central bank decided to raise interest rates to a 31-year high of 1.00 per cent, released on Wednesday, showed some board members called for further interest rate hikes to push the central bank’s policy rate closer to levels deemed neutral to the economy.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, rose 0.02 per cent to 101.43, holding near its one-year high. The euro was down 0.06 per cent at US$1.1375. In Britain, the pound weakened 0.08 per cent to US$1.3192.

Spot gold extended losses, down 0.48 per cent to US$4,088.71 an ounce as higher rate expectations reduced the appeal of non-yielding assets.

In cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin gained 0.84 per cent to US$62,914.94. Ethereum rose 0.43 per cent to US$1,669.35.

Source: Reuters

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