Asia-Pacific markets fell Friday, tracking Wall Street declines on persistent concerns over lofty valuations in artificial intelligence stocks.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 disposed of 607.31 points, or 1.2%, to close Friday and the week at 50,276.37.
Shares of AI-related stocks were the key drag: SoftBank closed 6.87% lower, semiconductor testing equipment maker Advantest lost 5.54%, chipmaker Renesas Electronics fell 3.75%, and Tokyo Electron, a chip production equipment maker, declined 1.35%.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng dumped 244.07 points, or 0.9%, to 26,241.83.
Shares of major AI companies fell Thursday stateside, weighing down on the broader U.S. market. The biggest declines were from Nvidia, Microsoft, Palantir Technologies, Broadcom and Advanced Micro Devices,
Korean markets declined, as the country’s memory chip giants, Samsung Electronics lost 1.3% and SK Hynix, slipped 2.2%,
CHINA
The CSI 300 in Shanghai fell 14.61 points, or 0.3%, to 4,678.79
China’s October exports plunged 1.1% in U.S. dollar terms from a year earlier, official data showed Friday, missing expectations of a 3% growth in a Reuters survey and a steep drop from the 8.3% surge in September.
Imports also missed expectations, growing 1% year on year in October. Economists had expected a 3.2% growth, down from 7.4% in September. That comes as weak domestic demand continues to weigh on the back of a prolonged housing slump, rising job insecurity, and the tapering of consumption-focused stimulus measures.
In other markets
In Korea, the Kospi demurred 72.69 points, or 1.8%, to 3,953.76
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index pushed ahead 7.25 points, or 0.2%, to 4,492.24
In Taiwan, the Taiex tumbled 248.04 points, or 0.9%, to 27,651.41
In Australia, the ASX 200 slid 58.62 points, or 0.7%, to 8,769.66.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 gained 22.4 points, or 0.2%, to 13,599.21.
