Asian markets sell off after US inflation fuels rate hike bets
Seoul and Tokyo bore the brunt of the selling as traders bailed out of once-imperious chipmakers.
Asian markets experienced a sharp decline on Thursday, Oct 15, as US inflation data fueled speculation of increased interest rates from the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve's actions were expected to cause traders to offload chipmakers, which were once seen as invincible. Seoul's Kospi index fell more than 7%, with SK hynix and Samsung dropping over 10% each.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 plummeted more than 5%, while Kioxia and Advantest saw losses of more than 11% and 13%, respectively. SoftBank also suffered a decline of over 9%. Taipei's TSMC saw a drop of around 3%. The selling affected markets beyond the region, including Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Jakarta. In Singapore, the Straits Times Index dropped 0.9%.
The US consumer price index rose to 3.7% in September, significantly higher than the previous month and beyond the 3.6% forecast. This surge was driven by soaring energy costs due to the ongoing Iran war, which had disrupted crude oil supplies. The market reacted negatively, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq experiencing the steepest decline, falling nearly 2%.
The increased probability of a Federal Reserve rate hike over the year ahead, possibly as soon as later this month, contributed to the market's reaction.
Written by urgent.news from CNA - Business's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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- Asian markets sell off after US inflation fuels rate hike bets channelnewsasia.com
