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Most Asian stock markets declined on Tuesday, extending recent losses as the technology sector continued to struggle under concerns about stretched artificial intelligence valuations. Investor sentiment remained fragile amid caution ahead of key U.S. and regional economic data, alongside growing expectations of a potentially hawkish stance from the Bank of Japan later this week.
Regional equities tracked weak cues from Wall Street, where U.S. markets retreated overnight due to persistent selling pressure in technology stocks. The latest downturn in the sector was triggered by underwhelming guidance and heavy capital expenditure plans announced by Broadcom and Oracle last week, raising doubts over the sustainability of AI-driven growth and data center spending. These concerns spilled over into Asian tech shares, keeping risk appetite subdued.
U.S. stock futures also reflected caution, with S&P 500 futures falling around 0.4% in Asian hours as investors awaited critical U.S. nonfarm payrolls and consumer price index inflation data due later this week. The upcoming data is expected to influence expectations around Federal Reserve interest rate policy, adding to global market uncertainty.
Japanese stocks were among the notable laggards, with the Nikkei 225 and TOPIX indexes dropping between 1% and 1.3%. Losses were broad-based, led by technology shares, as investors grew wary ahead of the Bank of Japan’s policy meeting. Markets are increasingly pricing in the possibility of a rate hike after recent comments from BOJ officials signaled openness to tightening monetary policy amid rising inflation. Upcoming Japanese CPI data further added to caution, while modest improvements in manufacturing activity and slightly slower services growth provided limited support.
Across Asia, technology-heavy markets underperformed. South Korea’s KOSPI and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng both fell roughly 1.7%, while Taiwan’s TSMC declined about 1.4%. China’s major indexes also slid around 1%, pressured by weak November economic data and renewed concerns over the property sector, particularly as China Vanke moves to restructure debt. Elsewhere, Australia’s ASX 200, Singapore’s Straits Times, and India’s Nifty 50 futures all edged lower, reflecting widespread risk aversion across the region.
