Asia-Pacific markets experienced a broad rebound in afternoon trade on Friday, recovering from earlier losses. The shift occurred as investors rotated out of technology stocks, with South Korea’s Kospi index showing a notable advance.
Regional Performance
Japan’s Nikkei 225 extended its early gains, rising 1.36%, while the Topix saw an increase of 1.17%. South Korea’s Kospi advanced significantly by 4.65%, though its tech-heavy Kosdaq Index declined by 1.68%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 1.39%. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index gained 1.57%, and mainland China’s CSI 300 was up 1.15%. Taiwan’s benchmark Taiex inched 0.2% higher.
U.S. Market Influence
U.S. markets were closed for the Independence Day holiday. In the preceding trading session, U.S. stocks closed mixed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average reached a record closing high, boosted by a softer-than-expected June jobs report that fueled expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts. However, weakness in semiconductor stocks exerted downward pressure on the Nasdaq.
Semiconductor Sector Weakness
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 594.83 points, or 1.14%, to close at a record 52,900.07, and also hit a new intraday high. The S&P 500 saw a smaller gain, rising less than 1 point to end at 7,483.24. The Nasdaq dropped 0.8% to 25,832.67. The semiconductor sector experienced a second consecutive day of declines, impacting the latter two benchmarks. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF fell 4.5%, with notable drops including Teradyne, down 13.6%, and KLA, down 11.5%. Nvidia shares declined 1.4%, and Micron shares lost 5.5%.
Norman Pearlstine is the Chief Editor of News Raise and focuses on Business news. His responsibility is to oversee the editorial content including business, commodities, personal investments and the stock market.
