Asian equities retreated on Monday as technology stocks led declines, with Samsung Electronics and Alibaba facing sharp losses after major announcements.
South Korea’s Kospi index fell 3.4%, with Samsung Electronics dropping 8.7% following investor disappointment over plans to return up to 110 trillion won ($80 billion) to shareholders. SK Hynix shed 2.4% in sympathy. Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.5%, while Kioxia tumbled 7.2% and TDK declined 0.5%. SoftBank fell 5% after announcing a record ¥1 trillion retail bond offering.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dropped 2.1%, with Alibaba plunging nearly 10% after pricing a $10.2 billion follow-on offering at an 8.4% discount to its previous close. The proceeds will fund AI infrastructure expansion. JD.com fell 1.9%. Mainland China’s CSI 300 declined 1.3% and the Shanghai Composite lost 0.7%.
U.S. stock futures showed modest declines, with Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.3% and S&P 500 futures down 0.1%. Brent crude fell 1.5% to $93.02 per barrel after last week’s 6.6% gain, while WTI crude declined 1.6% to $85.64. The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield held near 4.71%, with the 30-year yield close to 5.25%, near a 19-year high.
Ahead of key events, Nvidia is scheduled to report earnings on Wednesday, while Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh is set to speak at the Jackson Hole symposium on Friday. President Donald Trump also imposed a 50% tariff on $20 billion of Canadian goods, adding to trade tensions.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 bucked the trend, rising 0.5%, as Ampol surged 5% after first-half net profit soared 376% to A$857.2 million on strong refining margins amid Middle East supply disruptions. India’s Nifty 50 edged up 0.1%, while Singapore’s Straits Times Index fell 0.2%.
