HONG KONG (AP) — Asian shares fell Wednesday after Wall Street suffered its worst day since early August, with trading heavyweight Nvidia falling 9.5%, leading to a global slide in chip-related stocks.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 3.8% to 37,211.09, leading losses across Asia. Electronics and semiconductor company Tokyo Electron fell 7% in morning trading. South Korea’s Kospi fell 3.0% to 2,584.81, while tech giant Samsung Electronics fell 3.1%. Taiwan’s Taiex lost 4.0%, dragged down by heavyweight Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, which was down 4.7%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 2.1% to 7,933.40 after data on Wednesday showed the country’s GDP grew 1% from the second quarter of 2023, slightly above experts’ forecasts. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 1.1% to 17,462.25 and the Shanghai Composite index lost 0.5% to 2,789.39.
U.S. futures were lower. Rising oil supplies pushed prices lower as Libya moved closer to resolving a dispute over control of the country’s oil revenues, meaning oil production could soon increase.
U.S. benchmark crude fell 45 cents to $69.89 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, lost 42 cents to $73.33 a barrel.
Growing concerns about the economy of China, the world’s largest importer of crude oil, also added to doubts about future oil demand, especially after recent weak data releases weighed on by a housing market downturn and weak consumption.
The S&P 500’s heaviest weighting, Nvidia, fell 9.5% on Tuesday, struggling even after the chip company beat lofty expectations for its latest earnings report. The subdued performance could fuel criticism that Nvidia and other Big Tech stocks simply soared amid Wall Street’s frenzy over artificial intelligence technology. Global semiconductor-related stocks fell on Wednesday.
The S&P 500 fell 2.1% on Tuesday, giving back some of the gains from a three-week winning streak that had taken it to the brink of its all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 626 points, or 1.5%, from its own record set on Friday, ahead of Monday’s Labor Day holiday. The Nasdaq Composite fell 3.3% as Nvidia and other Big Tech stocks led the way lower.
Treasury yields also fell in the bond market after a report showed U.S. manufacturing contracted again in August, spluttering under the weight of high interest rates. Output has been in decline for most of the past two years, and August’s performance was worse than economists had expected.
“Demand remains weak as businesses are unwilling to invest in capital and inventory due to current federal monetary policy and election uncertainty,” said Timothy Fiore, chair of the Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing survey committee.
Other reports due later this week could show how much help the economy needs, including updates on the number of job openings U.S. employers advertised in late July and how much U.S. service companies grew last month. The highlight of the week is likely to come on Friday, when a report will show how many jobs U.S. employers added in August.
All told, the S&P 500 fell 119.47 points to 5,528.93. The Dow fell 626.15 points to 40,936.93 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 577.33 points to 17,136.30.
In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 3.84% from 3.91% Friday night, down from 4.70% in late April, a significant move for the bond market.
In currency trading, the US dollar was virtually unchanged at 145.48 Japanese yen. The euro was worth $1.1054, up from $1.1043.
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AP Business journalist Stan Choe contributed.
