Asian markets traded mostly lower in early deals on Thursday, in tandem with a volatile night on Wall Street and as the Nasdaq broke its winning streak. After recovering from a selloff that battered hedge funds, AI shares dipped as investors secured profits to review valuations. Market participants refrained from risky assets ahead of the official government jobs data. Meanwhile, the US July private payroll growth slowed to 44,000, down from June's revised 95,000 and below forecasts. Market keenly awaited for China's upcoming trade data for further insight into the resilience of external demand and the broader economic outlook of the country. South Korea’s KOSPI plunged the most among Asian indices, as selloff in global technology stocks weighed heavily on semiconductor shares.
Nikkei tumbled by 682.44 points or 1.03% to 65,618.00, Hang Seng plunged by 430.82 points or 1.66% to 25,485.00, Taiwan weighted down by 134.29 points or 0.30% to 44,477.31, KOSPI Index wilted by 280.64 points or 4.25% to 6,317.62, Jakarta Composite dipped by 10.85 points or 0.17% to 6,340.29, and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI index narrowed by 8.07 points or 0.46% to 1,740.10
On the flip side, Straits Times up by 56.87 points or 1.02% to 5,638.24, and Shanghai Composite higher by 0.49 points or 0.01% to 3,878.92.
