DOW JONES–The previous day’s rally in the wake of strong Nvidia business figures turned out to be unsustainable on the Asian stock exchanges on Friday. Traders are talking about sell-off sentiment – especially in the technology sector. The region’s indices are deep red, following Wall Street’s severe losses – but in some cases they are significantly higher. Even an improved growth forecast from Singapore does not support the sentiment on the stock markets. Concerns about an overvaluation of the technology and AI sector despite Nvidia’s quarterly report are spreading again. In addition, the US labor market report provides plenty of material for discussions for both monetary policy hawks and doves. The report provides arguments for and against an interest rate cut in the USA in December – but the concern about a lack of an interest rate cut outweighs them.
In Asia, as before on the US stock exchanges, technology stocks are among the biggest losers – technology-heavy indices such as the South Korean Kospi are therefore particularly hard hit by the downward trend.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 fell by 2.3 percent to 48,668 points – weighed down by technology and bank stocks. Speculation about interest rate hikes is making the rounds on the market, adding to the burden as data shows rising inflation in October. The underlying trend is moving more strongly above the Bank of Japan’s inflation target. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s cabinet has approved another spending package, which is likely to further fuel inflation. According to ING, the data shows clear inflationary pressure and argues for an interest rate increase. This idea is supported by good export data. The bank expects more board members to support a rate hike in December.
In China, the Shanghai Composite falls 1.6 percent and the HSI in Hong Kong falls 1.9 percent. The growing tensions between Japan and China over the Taiwan issue following Takaichi’s recent comments are also weighing on this issue. In Taipei, the technology stocks Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing and Hon Hai Precision Industry (Foxconn) are losing significantly.
The Kospi in South Korea lost 3.7 percent. The Bank of Korea is expected to raise its growth forecasts next week and keep its key interest rate stable for the fourth consecutive day, according to trade reports. In the technology sector, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix lost 5.8 and 8.4 percent, respectively.
In Australia, the leading index closed with a discount of 1.6 percent. The Australian economy is stronger, but has a weakness, it is said, citing the slowdown in wage growth. Shoe retailer Accent’s shares have plunged 14 percent to their lowest level in more than five years. The company has signaled that the market’s profit expectations would be significantly missed.
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INDEX last +/- % % YTD end
S&P/ASX 200 (Sydney) 8,419.20 -1.6% +3.5% 06:00
Nikkei-225 (Tokyo) 48,667.82 -2.3% +21.7% 07:00
Kospi (Seoul) 3,858.15 -3.7% +60.8% 07:30
Shanghai Comp. 3,867.26 -1.6% +17.8% 08:00
Hang-Seng (Hongk.) 25,345.65 -1.9% +28.8% 09:00
FOREX last +/- % 00:00 Thu, 08:23 % YTD
EUR/USD 1.1540 0.1 1.1530 1.1523 +11.4%
EUR/JPY 181.45 -0.1 181.56 181.57 +11.3%
EUR/GBP 0.8814 -0.1 0.8819 0.8820 +6.8%
GBP/USD 1.3093 0.2 1.3073 1.3064 +4.4%
USD/JPY 157.23 -0.2 157.47 157.57 -0.1%
USD/KRW 1,474.35 0.5 1,474.35 1,468.83 -0.6%
USD/CNY 7.0864 -0.1 7.0946 7.0908 -1.6%
USD/CNH 7.1133 -0.1 7.1178 7.1174 -3.0%
USD/HKD 7.7847 0.0 7.7840 7.7823 +0.3%
AUD/USD 0.6450 0.0 0.6448 0.6482 +4.7%
NZD/USD 0.5601 0.2 0.5589 0.5613 +0.1%
BTC/USD 86,183.65 -2.0 87,965.70 91,788.55 -4.5%
CRUDE OIL last VT close +/- % +/- USD % YTD
Brent/ICE 62.53 63.38 -1.3% -0.85 -15.1%
METALS last day previous +/- % +/- USD % YTD
Gold 4,055.86 4,076.85 -0.5% -20.99 +55.4%
Silver 49.86 50.649 -1.6% -0.79 +77.1%
Platinum 1,309.60 1,315.77 -0.5% -6.17 +53.3%
Copper 4.94 4.97 -0.6% -0.03 +20.1%
YTD based on the closing price of the previous day
(Information provided without guarantee)
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 21, 2025 00:34 ET (05:34 GMT)
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