Asian Markets Correct, AI Stocks Under Pressure
Asia-Pacific stock markets mostly opened lower on Tuesday, following Wall Street's overnight decline. Pressure stemmed from investors exiting artificial intelligence (AI) stocks in the United States. Oracle shares plunged more than 5%, Broadcom fell more than 2%, while Microsoft also posted losses. In the US, the S&P 500 index fell 0.16%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell slightly, and the tech-dominated Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.59%.
In Asia, market movements were mixed. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index opened up 0.14%. However, preliminary purchasing managers' index (PMI) data from S&P Global showed Australian business activity slowed in December, with the composite PMI falling to 51.1 from 52.6 in November. Meanwhile, Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 1.27% and the Topix Index fell 0.97%, with market participants awaiting the release of Japan's PMI data later today.
In South Korea, market pressure continued for a second day. The Kospi index opened down 0.37%, while the small-cap Kosdaq fell 1.2%. However, there was positive sentiment in the healthcare sector after biotech company ADEL announced a drug development partnership with French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi, worth up to US$1.04 billion. In Hong Kong, Hang Seng futures were at 25,574, slightly below the main index's last close. (az)
Source: Newsmaker.id
