Asian shares mostly declined on Wednesday as investors traded cautiously, although continued demand for computer chips and artificial intelligence (AI) technology provided some support to global markets.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 fell less than 0.1% to close at 67,744.29. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.6% to 8,727.90, while South Korea’s Kospi declined 0.4% to 6,008.81 after recent volatile trading.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slipped less than 0.1% to 24,342.52, while the Shanghai Composite fell nearly 0.9% to 3,767.23.
On Wall Street, major US stock indexes ended Tuesday with little change, remaining close to their record levels. Investors assessed the latest corporate earnings reports, with several companies reporting better-than-expected profits, although gains in some stocks were offset by losses in others.
The S&P 500 fell less than 0.1%, moving slightly further away from its record high set last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 180.45 points, or 0.3%, to 51,670.10, while the Nasdaq Composite declined 41.52 points, or 0.2%, to 27,204.38.
The S&P 500 lost 1.79 points to finish at 7,805.45.
Goldman Sachs shares initially surged more than 4% after the bank reported third-quarter profits that significantly exceeded analysts’ expectations. However, the gains quickly disappeared, and the stock fluctuated between positive and negative territory before closing down 0.2%.
Investors are closely watching corporate earnings as analysts expect profits at companies in the S&P 500 to grow nearly 30% in the third quarter compared with the same period a year earlier, according to FactSet.
Companies may need to meet these high expectations to justify the strong gains in their share prices, despite concerns over persistent inflation, rising pressure from the bond market and conflicts in the Middle East.
Investors have also raised concerns that share prices of chipmakers may have risen too far amid enthusiasm over AI technology.
China’s memory chipmaker CXMT, which is making progress that could increase competition for major industry players, initially gained in Asian trading on Wednesday before giving up its gains. Shares of South Korea’s Samsung Electronics also rose early in the session before losing momentum, while SK Hynix shares declined.
In the bond market, US Treasury yields eased after oil prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note slipped to 5.21% from 5.24% late Friday. The US bond market was closed on Monday for a public holiday.
Yields declined after Brent crude prices fell 0.9% to $105.69 a barrel. Oil prices have fluctuated amid uncertainty over when conflicts in the Middle East will allow global energy supplies to return to normal.
In energy trading on Wednesday, benchmark US crude rose 0.21% to $94.34 a barrel, while Brent crude, the international benchmark, gained 0.15% to $105.85 a barrel.
In currency trading, the US dollar edged down to 158.25 Japanese yen from 158.32 yen. The euro rose to $1.1212 from $1.1203.