Nikkei, Yen, Hang Seng: Asiens Börsen uneins – KI-Sorgen belasten Japan, China im Plus

As of the start of the week, Asian stock markets faced challenges due to concerns over the substantial costs associated with Artificial Intelligence (AI). Despite the unexpected strong economic data from China, the losses were mitigated. The Japanese stock market showed a weaker trend on Monday. The 225 Wartime Nikkei Index fell 1.2 percent to 64,534 points, while the broader Topix index dropped 0.4 percent to 4,050 counts.

The Shanghai Stock Exchange, on the other hand, gained 0.3 percent to 3,728 points. The CSI-300 index, comprising the 300 largest Chinese companies on the mainland exchanges, increased by 0.4 percent to 4,186 points.

In Japan, weak Wall Street reports and concerns over interest rates impacted the technology companies' stock prices. Kazuo Ueda, the president of the Japan's central bank, hinted that core inflation was near the two percent target and the high demand for AI was driving up price pressures. "While chip-related stocks are dragging the index down, substantive and defensive securities should support the market," explained analyst Yuta Okamoto of Tokai Tokyo.

Among the biggest losers were Taiyo Yuden, with a loss of 7.42 percent, Sumitomo Electric, and Sumco, which dropped almost six percent. Conversely, Toho rose by 3.64 percent, Baycurrent, and Aeon.

In China, the growth of the economy provided relief. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 4.5 percent in the third quarter, surpassing expectations and reducing pressure on the government in Beijing to announce further aggressive economic stimulus packages. However, the sentiment remained dampened by the upcoming US balance sheets of tech giants.

"Investors have long been worried that AI revenues will not be enough to recover the massive pre-investments," said economist My Bui from the asset management firm AMP. Rising financing costs also made it harder to maintain the expansion of AI infrastructure.