News Saturday that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un had called a halt to nuclear tests and intercontinental missile launches — ahead of a planned summit with Donald Trump — was unable to provide enough support.
With attention now turning away from the Syria crisis and the China-US trade spat, a series of reports on Apple expressing doubts about iPhone sales has battered tech stocks across the world.
The US giant fell more than 4% on Friday, the day after a near-3% drop that was fuelled by top smartphone chip supplier Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) forecasting a plunge in sales.
The drop in Apple dragged the tech-rich Nasdaq sharply down in New York, where the Dow and S&P 500 also ended in negative territory as rising US Treasury yields fan fears about a sharp rise in interest rates.
The losses filtered through to Apple’s Asian suppliers and other tech firms.
AAC Technologies dived 1.9% in Hong Kong, TSMC shed 1.1% in Taipei and Alps Electric was 2.3% off in Tokyo, where Sharp lost 5.6%. On broader markets, Japan’s Nikkei ended 0.3% lower, Hong Kong slipped 0.5% and Shanghai fell 0.1%. Seoul eased 0.1%, Wellington lost 0.2% and Taipei was 0.8% lower. Singapore dipped 0.1% but Sydney added 0.3%.
Oil prices dipped in Asia but remain at highs not seen since the end of 2014, with support from comments by Saudi Energy Minister Khaled al-Faleh on Friday that the global market has the capacity to absorb higher prices. Saudi Arabia and Russia said at an Opec meeting in Jeddah they would press on with a production cap deal to defend higher prices.
“Opec and Russia compliance remains high and solidly committed to reining in oversupply, which should continue to support prices,” said Stephen Innes, head of Asia-Pacific trading at OANDA.
“But involuntary supply cuts and production outages in Venezuela will also continue to support even more so after the falls in US inventories last week.” He added that dealers were also keeping an eye on possible oil sanctions against Iran by the US, which could put further upward pressure on the market.
In currency trade, the pound continues to sag against the dollar after Bank of England head Mark Carney seemed to pour cold water on the prospects of a rate hike next month, disappointing traders who had bet on higher borrowing costs.
The dollar edged up against the safe haven yen on hopes the China-US trade spat can be resolved after US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he was “cautiously optimistic” of finding agreement.
“He also said he was considering a trip to China,” Rodrigo Catril, senior strategist at National Australia Bank, said in a note to clients, adding that the head of China’s central bank had spoken about allowing more foreign access to the country’s market.
Focus is on the release this week of a slew of US data, including economic growth and personal consumption.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 closed down 0.3% to 22,088.04 points; Hong Kong — Hang Seng ended down 0.5% to 30,254.40 points and Shanghai — Composite fell 0.1% to 3,068.01 points yesterday.
