Shares in Asia echoed U.S. declines, and a rally in the dollar stalled as the greenback weakened against major currencies.
Stocks in Japan, Australia, and South Korea dropped along with Hong Kong equity futures. The declines followed selling on Wall Street that weighed on tech stocks, partly driven by concerns about Apple Inc.’s iPhone sales in China. Hong Kong’s stock market trading will be delayed because of a rainstorm warning, the local exchange operator said.
The S&P 500 fell 0.3%, while the Nasdaq 100 dropped 0.7%. Apple shares slumped 2.9%. US equity futures edged lower early Friday. The hit to sentiment for tech stocks flowed onto the Golden Dragon index of Chinese companies, which fell 4%—one of its worst days this year.
Brent crude prices slipped below $90 a barrel, and WTI crude was below the $87 mark. The yield on the 10-year U.S. bond was trading at 4.22%, and Bitcoin was below the $27,000 level.
At 8:05 a.m., the GIFT Nifty, an early indicator of the Nifty 50 Index’s performance in India, was up 27 points, or 0.14%, at 19,794.5.
India’s benchmark stock indices reversed losses to end higher for the fifth session on Thursday. The Nifty ended above 19,700, and the Sensex closed beyond the 66,000 mark for the first time since Aug. 1. Five days of advance were the longest in eight weeks since the July 13–July 19 period.
The real estate and PSU banking sectors led, whereas fast-moving consumer goods and pharmaceutical shares were under pressure.
Overseas investors remained net sellers of Indian equities on Thursday for the fourth consecutive session. Foreign portfolio investors offloaded stocks worth Rs 758.55 crore, according to provisional data from the National Stock Exchange. Domestic institutional investors turned net buyers and mopped up equities worth Rs 28.11 crore, the NSE data showed.
The local currency depreciated 7 paise to close at a record low of Rs 83.21 against the U.S. dollar on Thursday.
