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Markets were mostly lower in Asia on Wednesday after U.S. stocks pulled back from their records, dented by selling of technology and energy sector shares.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index fell 1.8% to 39,210.61, leading the declines, as tech stocks fell after Dutch computer chip equipment supplier ASML warned of a slower recovery in demand for semiconductors outside of the AI boom.
Chip maker Tokyo Electron sank 9.8% and Lasertec Corp., which makes equipment to inspect chips, lost 13.4%.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.2% to 8,301.80.
In Seoul, the Kospi shed 0.4% to 2,622.27, while Taiwan's Taiex slipped 0.5%. India's Sensex lost 0.2%.
Chinese shares mostly advanced, rebounding after recent losses.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng surged 0.9% to 20,501.77, while the Shanghai Composite index gained 0.4% to 3,214.01.
On Tuesday, Wall Street pulled back from its records, with the S&P 500 falling 0.8% to 5,815.26, a day after setting an all-time high for the 46th time this year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.8% to 42,740.42, and the Nasdaq composite sank 1% to 18,315.59.
Exxon Mobil dropped 3%, and energy stocks fell to some of Wall Street’s sharpest losses after oil prices tumbled more than 4%. A barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, has fallen back below $75 from more than $80 last week.
Crude prices have been weakening as China’s flagging economic growth raises concerns about demand for oil. At the same time, worries have receded about Israel possibly attacking Iranian oil facilities as part of its retaliation against Iran’s missile attack early this month. Iran is a major producer of crude, and a strike could upend its exports to China and elsewhere.
However, oil recovered in early Wednesday trading, with benchmark U.S. crude oil up 29 cents at $70.86 per barrel. Brent crude gained 26 cents to $74.51 per barrel.
Nvidia was the heaviest weight on the S&P 500 and fell 4.5%. The chip company's stock is still up 166.2% for the year so far on euphoria about the profits created by the boom around artificial-intelligence technology.
In reporting ASML's latest quarterly results, its CEO Christophe Fouquet said AI continues to offer strong upside potential, but “other market segments are taking longer to recover.” ASML’s stock traded in the United States fell 16.3%.
“Anxiety has also intensified with reports that the U.S. is considering new restrictions on chip exports to specific countries, particularly targeting Nvidia and AMD, citing national security concerns,” Anderson Alves of ActivTrades said in a commentary. Traders are watching for an earnings report from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp., due Thursday. TMSC's shares fell 1.9% on Wednesday.
U.S. chipmaker Wolfspeed jumped 21.3% on Tuesday, trimming its loss for the year to 68.3%, after the Biden-Harris administration announced plans to provide up to $750 million in direct funding to the company. The money will support its new silicon carbide factory in North Carolina that makes the wafers used in advanced computer chips.
Charles Schwab jumped 6.1%. More customers opened brokerage accounts at the company, helping to bring its total client assets to a record $9.92 trillion. Bank of America added 0.5%, and CEO Brian Moynihan said his company benefited from higher average loans and fees for investment banking and asset management.
Walgreens Boots Alliance was another winner, up 15.8%, after topping analysts’ forecasts. The drugstore chain also said it will close about 1,200 locations over the next three years as it tries to turn around its struggling U.S. business.
In the bond market, trading of Treasurys resumed after a holiday on Monday, and yields sank following a weaker-than-expected report on manufacturing in New York state.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.03% from 4.10% late Friday.
Early Wednesday, the dollar was trading at 149.19 Japanese yen, down from 149.22 yen. The euro slipped to $1.0890 from $1.0892.
