Asian markets traded in red in early deals on Thursday, as the hotter-than-expected US inflation data intensified fears over further interest rate hikes by Federal Reserve. Sharp sell-offs in technological, artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductor stocks pressured the indices. Market participants were cautious as credit risk fears intensified following a sharp plunge in US cloud operator CoreWeave's stock and a corresponding spike in its bond yields. The benchmark KOSPI plunged as localized panic over aggressive Chinese server-DRAM competition hit South Korean chip giants Samsung and SK Hynix.
Nikkei tumbled by 2,967.29 points or 4.38% to 64,777.00, Straits Times down by 48.50 points or 0.89% to 5,374.83, Hang Seng plunged by 367.17 points or 1.53% to 23,947.00, KOSPI Index fell by 438.26 points or 7.87% to 5,570.55, Taiwan Weighted decreased by 1,695.00 points or 3.61% to 46,930.83, Jakarta Composite reduced by 129.10 points or 2.17% to 5,813.92, Shanghai Composite dipped by 74.58 points or 1.98% to 3,692.65 and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI index curtailed by 5.60 points or 0.34% to 1,622.12.
