Technology stocks in Asia-Pacific declined on Wednesday, mirroring losses seen among their peers on Wall Street following an overnight surge in the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 declined 437.68 points, or 1.6%, to 27,350.30.
In Japan, shares of SoftBank Group shed 2.8%. The Japanese yen traded at 123.85 per u.s. dollar, weaker as compared with levels below 123.3 seen against the greenback yesterday.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index returned to trading after an extended long weekend, and shed 421.79 points, or 1.9%, to 22,080.52.
Chinese tech stocks in Hong Kong dropped, with Alibaba falling 5.4% and Meituan declining 3.7% while Tencent shed 2.3%.
Hong Kong’s chief secretary John Lee resigned on Wednesday, two days after incumbent Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam announced Monday she will not pursue a second term in office. Local media reports have cited unnamed sources saying Lee is set to join the chief executive race.
Over in South Korea, Kakao shares declined 2.3% and Naver slipped 3.65% while SK Hynix fell 3%.
The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7581 after a recent drop from above $0.762.
CHINA
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 returned after a holiday to lose 12.32 points, or 0.3%, to 4,263.84.
Chinese services sector activity saw a sharp contraction in March, a private survey showed Wednesday. The Caixin services Purchasing Managers’ Index declined to 42.0 in March, well below February’s reading of 50.2 as well as the 50 mark that separates growth from contraction on a monthly basis. Wednesday’s reading was also the lowest since February 2020.
That data release comes as China continues to battle its worst Covid outbreak since the beginning of the pandemic in early 2020.
In other markets
In Taiwan, the Taiex lost 103.09 points, or 0.6%, to 17,522.50
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index docked 22.06 points, or 0.6%, to 3,422.95
In Korea, the Kospi index ditched 24.17 points, or 0.9%, to 2,735.03.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 fell 42.09 points, or 0.4%, to 12,079.30.
In Australia, the ASX 200 subtracted 37.77 points, or 0.5%, to 7,490.09.
