Asian stocks end lower

Saturday, 18 July 2026 03:16 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

A major selloff in semiconductor and AI-related stocks dragged Asian markets lower on Friday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 plunging more than 5% to lead the regional decline.

The retreat reflects escalating valuation concerns following a sharp overnight drop on Wall Street, which came during a holiday market closure in South Korea.

The downward momentum continued into Friday’s session, with major US equity index futures pointing to further losses. Technology-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures fell 1.33%, while S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slid 0.81% and 0.73%, respectively.

Japan’s (NKY:IND) fell 6.02% to below 65,000, while the broader Topix Index declined 1.3% to 3,975, the Japanese yen weakened toward 162.5 per dollar. Investors are now awaiting intervention data due later this month to assess whether Japanese authorities were behind the sharp but short-lived rallies in the yen seen in recent weeks.

China’s (SHCOMP) fell 1.64% to a near four-month low of 3,853 on Friday, while the Shenzhen Component slid 2.1% to a more than three-month low of 14,191, as sentiment toward China’s technology hardware sector turned increasingly bearish.

Hong Kong (HSI) fell 2.36% to 24,765 while India (SENSEX) rose 0.77% to 77,778, rebounding from the previous session’s subdued performance.

Australia (AS51) shares fell 0.90% to 8,783 in morning deals following a subdued session the day before. The Australian dollar fell below $0.70, but stayed near a three-week high.