Asian markets mixed as China growth beats forecasts while AI concerns weigh on Japan and Korea
Asian markets were mixed on Monday as stronger-than-expected Chinese economic growth supported mainland equities, while technology-heavy markets in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan remained under pressure following another sharp AI-led sell-off on Wall Street.
The Australian market bucked the regional weakness, with the S&P/ASX 200 closing around 0.3% higher near 8,833 points as takeover activity and gains in energy and financial stocks outweighed weakness in technology shares.
ASX finishes higher as takeover deals drive gains
The ASX 200 rose about 0.3% after trading as high as 8,849.9 during the session, extending Friday’s 1% advance despite another weak lead from Wall Street.
Challenger surged after receiving an indicative A$11.80-per-share takeover proposal from Dai-ichi Life valuing the annuities group at almost A$8 billion, while Cleanaway Waste Management also advanced as investors focused on its proposed takeover by EQT.
Technology stocks were among the weaker areas of the market as concerns around artificial intelligence spending continued to affect sentiment globally.
The Australian dollar traded around US$0.697, while iron ore was near US$91.20 a tonne and copper was around US$14,500 a tonne.
Nikkei slips as AI concerns linger
Japan’s Nikkei 225 remained lower during afternoon trading, down around 1% near 64,600 after falling as much as 2% earlier in the session.
Technology and semiconductor stocks remained under pressure after Friday’s renewed sell-off on Wall Street, where investors continued questioning whether revenues generated by artificial intelligence will justify the scale of spending on chips, data centres and computing infrastructure.
The Nasdaq Composite dropped 2.1% on Friday and suffered its worst week since June, while the S&P 500 fell 1.1%.
Korea and Taiwan extend technology weakness
South Korea’s Kospi was down around 1% to 1.5% during afternoon trading, giving back some of Friday’s rebound as semiconductor shares remained volatile.
The Kospi has experienced extreme swings over the past week, including a 7.6% plunge on Thursday followed by a recovery on Friday.
Taiwan’s Taiex was also weaker, down around 1.7% near 46,300 shortly before the close as semiconductor and technology companies remained under pressure.
China GDP growth improves
China’s economy expanded 4.5% year on year during the third quarter, accelerating from 4.3% in the previous three months and coming in slightly ahead of market expectations.
Growth for the first nine months stood at 4.6%, leaving Beijing broadly on course to meet its full-year target of between 4.5% and 5%.
Industrial production increased 5.5% in September, while retail sales rose 1.1%, although weakness in domestic demand and the property sector continued to temper the stronger headline GDP figure.
The Shanghai Composite traded modestly lower around the 3,700 level despite the stronger economic data.
Hong Kong’s market was closed for a public holiday.
India slips as banks weigh
Indian equities opened weaker, with the Nifty 50 slipping below 23,100 and the Sensex falling as private-sector banks came under pressure following quarterly earnings.
Elevated crude oil prices also weighed on sentiment in India, which remains particularly sensitive to higher energy costs because of its reliance on imported oil.
Wall Street tech rout sets cautious tone
Friday’s weakness in Asia followed another sharp sell-off in US technology stocks, with the Nasdaq dropping 2.1% and the S&P 500 losing 1.1%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell a more modest 0.3%, while semiconductor stocks were among the weakest areas of the market as concerns around the economics of the AI investment boom intensified.
The Nasdaq lost 4.5% over the week, its worst weekly performance since June, setting a cautious backdrop for Asian technology shares at the start of the new week.
Oil eases but remains elevated
Brent crude eased from Friday’s spike above US$109 a barrel to around US$108, while West Texas Intermediate traded around US$101 as some of the geopolitical risk premium came out of energy markets.
Gold remained firm around US$4,170 an ounce and Bitcoin traded above US$82,000 as investors continued to navigate volatile equity markets and geopolitical uncertainty.
