This is CNBC’s live blog covering Asia-Pacific markets.
Asia-Pacific markets fell across the board Wednesday, mirroring a tech slide on Wall Street led by Apple, following a report that iPhone sales dropped in China.
Apple shares slipped almost 3% in U.S. trading after a report from Counterpoint Research found iPhone sales plunged in China in the first six weeks of 2024. Investors monitored shares of Apple suppliers in Taiwan and South Korea.
The Taiwan weighted index fell marginally, retreating from a record high in the previous session, with shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company down 1.3% and Hon Hai falling 0.5%.
Shares of Samsung Electronics fell 1%, while South Korea’s broader Kospi slid 0.25%. The small cap Kosdaq was up 0.49%.
The news arrives after China’s CSI 300 index hit over three-month highs Tuesday after the country set its economic growth target at “around 5%” for 2024 during its “Two Sessions” meeting.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rebounded from Tuesday’s losses to rise 0.26%, while China’s CSI 300 index was down 0.18%.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 dipped 0.37%, falling below the 40,000 mark, while the broad-based Topix edged 0.1% higher.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.28% even as its economy grew more than expected in the fourth quarter, with gross domestic product up 1.5% year on year, compared with the 1.4% rise estimated in a Reuters poll.
U.S. stocks slipped for a second session Tuesday, dragged by steep declines in major tech names such as Apple. The indexes slipped from record high territory.
The Nasdaq Composite fell 1.65% as technology stocks fell the most. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1.04% while the S&P 500 fell 1.02%.
— CNBC’s Alex Harring and Hakyung Kim contributed to this report.
Australia GDP grows 0.2% in the final quarter of 2023
Cafe at the Royal Arcade, Bourke Street Mall, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia.
Australia’s economy grew 0.2% quarter over quarter in the fourth quarter of 2023, according to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The reading was driven by government expenditure and private business investment. It was also slightly below a Reuters poll estimate of a 0.3% rise.
“Growth was steady in December, but slowed across each quarter in 2023,” Katherine Keenan, ABS head of national accounts, said.
“Government spending and private business investment were the main drivers of GDP growth this quarter.”
Real GDP in the twelve months through December was 1.5%, slightly above a Reuters poll forecast of a 1.4% increase.
— Shreyashi Sanyal
CNBC Pro: ‘Once-in-a-lifetime opportunity’? Wealth manager names 3 stocks on his radar right now
Wealth manager Brian Vendig is bullish on stocks this year, and says there are opportunities for investors outside of 2023’s headline-makers.
“We believe stocks have a chance to appreciate because earnings outlooks for this year are expansionary and we are past the slowdown in earnings that we observed for the majority of last year,” Vendig, president of MJP Wealth Advisors, wrote in notes to CNBC.
“There are many areas of the market that did not significantly participate in the returns last year — such as healthcare, industrials, materials, financials and consumer staples — and that creates opportunities for investors.”
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.
— Amala Balakrishner
South Korea’s inflation quickens more than expected in February after three straight months of slowing
South Korea’s inflation rate rose for the first time in three months to come in at 3.1%, higher than the 2.8% in January and also more than the 2.9% expected by a Reuters poll.
The country’s core inflation rate, which strips out prices of food and energy, came in at 2.5%.
South Korea’s central bank was the first major central bank to stop its rate hikes early in 2023, holding its base rate in 3.5%.
— Lim Hui Jie
CNBC Pro: Diversify your AI plays — these are the best alternatives to Nvidia, fund managers say
Nvidia may have enjoyed a red-hot run on the back of the artificial intelligence craze, but many other tech stocks have also benefited.
As with any investing theme, diversification is needed.
Veteran tech investor Paul Meeks told CNBC Pro that even if Nvidia is a “great story,” it’s “too risky to be in just one” when it comes to AI.
Plus, one analyst names two startups that could be the next Nvidia.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.
— Weizhen Tan
Oil prices tick lower after China growth pledge, OPEC+ production cuts fall flat with traders
Crude oil futures edged lower Tuesday as China’s pledged to boost economic growth and OPEC+ decision to extend its production cuts fell flat with traders.
The West Texas Intermediate contract for April shed 59 cents, or 0.75%, to settle at $78.15 a barrel. May Brent futures lost 76 cents, or 0.92%, to settle at $82.04 a barrel.
The Beijing government on Tuesday set an economic growth target of about 5% for 2024 and announced the issuance of $138.9 billion in “ultra-long” special treasury bonds to fund major projects.
OPEC and its allies, OPEC+, agreed on Sunday to extend crude production cuts of 2.2 million barrels per day through the second quarter.
— Spencer Kimball
Magnificent 7 stocks, semiconductors among Nasdaq-100’s worst performers
Technology stocks underperformed on Tuesday, pushing the Nasdaq Composite and concentrated Nasdaq 100 down about 2.5% each.
A slew of “Magnificent 7” stocks were among the worst performers, with Tesla last down more than 4%. Apple and Microsoft shed about 3% each, while Amazon and Meta Platforms lost about 2%.
Semiconductor and software stocks also lagged, with CrowdStrike, Intel, Datadog and MondoDB slumping at least 6% each. Adobe, Broadcom, On Semiconductor and Globalfoundries dropped at least 4%, while Advanced Micro Devices declined about 1.6%
— Samantha Subin
Tesla stock slides on weak China sales, Berlin factory shutdown
Weighed down by brewing overseas troubles, shares of Tesla slid nearly 5% by early afternoon during Tuesday’s trading session.
The electric vehicle maker’s losses were compounded by declining sales in China.
“Tesla’s China-made vehicle sales of ~60.4k vehicles were down 19% YoY in February from ~74.5k vehicles in the prior year, according to the China Passenger Car Association,” wrote Deutsche Bank analyst Emmanuel Rosner in a Tuesday note.
However, the analyst supplied the caveat that these weak headline numbers were not solely limited to Tesla.
The company also faced a shutdown at a Berlin factory following a suspected arson attack. Production is not expected to resume this week, according to Tesla’s Berlin factory head, as reported by Reuters.
— Lisa Kailai Han
Bitcoin hits record above $69,000
Bitcoin climbed to an all-time high on Tuesday, topping $69,000 and breaking a previous record set in 2021. The cryptocurrency hit a high around $69,210, according to Coin Metrics. It was last up about 1% at $68,307. The move comes amid excitement around bitcoin ETFs and the upcoming halving event.
— Fred Imbert