Asia-Pacific markets fell Friday, after U.S. tech stocks lost ground and investors’ hopes of a December rate cut by the Federal Reserve faded. Japan’s Nikkei 225 tumbled 1.57% at the open, while the Topix index lost 0.72%. Tech conglomerate SoftBank plunged more than 10%. Other tech stocks on the index fell, with Advantest losing more than 9%, Tokyo Electron retreating nearly 6%, Lasertec falling nearly 5%, and Renesas Electron down 1.95%. Japan’s core inflation in October rose at its sharpest rate since July, in line with market estimates on Friday, supporting the case for interest rate hikes by the Bank of Japan. South Korea’s Kospi index plunged 4.09%, and the small-cap Kosdaq retreated 3.01%.
Stocks fell on Thursday, as a market-wide rally sparked by blockbuster Nvidia results and guidance gave up steam and as investors lost hope that the Federal Reserve would cut rates again in December. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 386.51 points, or 0.84%, to settle at 45,752.26, after rallying more than 700 points at session highs. The S&P 500 shed 1.56% to end the day at 6,538.76, despite rising as much as 1.9% earlier in the day. The Nasdaq Composite fell 2.16% to finish at 22,078.05, down from a 2.6% advance at one point in the session. Nvidia’s reversal dragged the broader market down. Shares had gained as much as 5% after the chipmaker released better-than-expected quarterly results and an upbeat fourth-quarter sales forecast. However, the stock ultimately closed down 3%, despite CEO Jensen Huang’s reassurances that demand for its current-generation Blackwell chips are “off the charts.” He also rejected the idea of an AI bubble.
Gold inched down on Friday as a stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs report reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve will refrain from cutting interest rates at its December meeting. Spot gold was down 0.1% at $4,072.87 per ounce, as of 0242 GMT. U.S. gold futures for December delivery edged 0.3% higher to $4,071.90 per ounce. The dollar was on track on Friday for its strongest week in more than a month. A stronger dollar makes greenback-priced gold more expensive for holders of other currencies. The closely watched U.S. Labor Department report, delayed by the federal government shutdown, showed that September nonfarm payrolls increased by 119,000, more than double the estimated increase of 50,000.
Oil prices fell 1.5% on Friday, extending declines for a third straight session as the United States pushed for a Russia-Ukraine peace deal that could swell global market supply, while uncertainty over its rate cuts curbed investors’ risk appetite. Brent crude futures fell 93 cents, or 1.5%, to $62.45 a barrel by 0416 GMT, after slipping 0.2% in the previous session. U.S. West Texas Intermediate was down 1.7%, or 98 cents, at $58.02 a barrel, after ending Thursday down 0.5%. Both contracts are set to fall more than 2.5% this week on oversupply concerns, erasing most of last week’s gains.
Japan’s exports in October massively beat expectations, government data on Friday showed, as shipments to Europe and Asia saw robust growth. Exports rose 3.6% year on year compared with Reuters-polled economists’ estimates of a 1.1% growth. But it was lower than the 4.2% gain seen in September. Exports to Asia climbed 4.2% and shipments to Western Europe surged 8.8% year on year, helping offset the 2.7% decline to North America as goods shipped to the U.S. fell 3.1%. Automobile shipments, the largest Japanese exports to the U.S. by value, fell 7.5% compared to the same period a year earlier, but softer than the 24.2% decline seen in the prior month.
Japan’s cabinet approved a stimulus package totaling 21.3 trillion yen ($135.5 billion) on Friday, as Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi seeks to boost the country’s slowing economy and offer support to inflation-hit consumers. Public broadcaster NHK reported that the package was based on three pillars: addressing rising prices, achieving a strong economy, and strengthening defense and diplomatic capabilities, according to a Google translation. This stimulus package is the largest since the Covid-19 pandemic, according to local media. The cabinet also said it would expand local government grants, as well as provide subsidies for electricity and gas bills. The support measures will kick in January, amounting to about 7,000 yen for a standard household over a three-month period.
Singapore raised its 2025 economic outlook Friday after stronger growth in the third quarter, but warned that expansion is likely to cool in 2026 as the U.S. tariffs weigh on global demand. The Ministry of Trade and Industry upgraded Singapore’s 2025 GDP forecast to around 4%, up from an earlier range of 1.5% to 2.5%, largely thanks to the better-than-expected economic growth in the third quarter. “Global economic conditions have turned out to be more resilient than expected,” the MTI said in a statement, citing stronger demand from key trading partners, stronger demand for semiconductor exports tied to the artificial-intelligence boom and the de-escalation in U.S.-China trade tensions. The economy grew 4.2% in the July-to-September period from a year earlier, extending the second quarter’s 4.7% increase, government data showed.
Japan’s core inflation in October rose at its sharpest rate since July, in line with market estimates on Friday, supporting the case for interest rate hikes by the Bank of Japan. Core inflation, which strips out prices of fresh food, came in at 3% as expected by economists polled by Reuters. The headline inflation rate rose to 3%, staying above the BOJ’s 2% target for 43 straight months. The so-called “core-core” inflation rate, which strips out prices of fresh food and energy, crept up to at 3.1%, compared to 3% in September. Rice inflation continued to ease for a fifth month in a row, dipping to 40.2% from 49.2% in the previous month. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was 1.58% lower, while the yen strengthened 0.1% to trade at 157.5 against the dollar as senior Japanese officials voiced concerns on yen moves. BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda told the country’s parliament on Friday that the central bank should be mindful that a weak yen could affect underlying inflation by pushing up import costs and broader prices.
Bitcoin dropped on Thursday to levels not seen in more than six months, as investors appeared to pull back exposure to riskier assets and weighed the prospects of another Federal Reserve rate cut next month. The flagship digital currency fell to as low as $86,325.81, its lowest level since April 21. It last traded at $86,690.11. The release of stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs data raised questions about whether the central bank would lower its benchmark overnight rate. The U.S. economy added 119,000 in September, well above the 50,000 economists polled by Dow Jones expected. That report sent the probability of a December rate cut to around 40%, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool. Bitcoin’s pullback formed part of a broader cryptocurrency market decline. XRP was last down 2.3% on the day, and is below $2.00, while ether shed more than 3% to trade well below $3,000. Dogecoin was unchanged.
The U.S. economy added substantially more jobs than expected in September, according to a long-awaited report Thursday from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 119,000 in the month, up from the 4,000 jobs lost in August following a downward revision. The Dow Jones consensus estimate for September was 50,000. The July total also was revised down to 72,000, a decrease of 7,000 from the prior release. In addition to the headline jobs number, the BLS said the unemployment rate edged higher to 4.4%, the highest it’s been since October 2021. A broader measure that includes those not looking for jobs or working part-time for economic reasons edged lower to 8%. Average hourly earnings increased 0.2% for the month and 3.8% from a year ago, compared to respective forecasts for 0.3% and 3.7%.
A sector-wide pullback hit Asian chip stocks Friday, led by a steep decline in SoftBank, after Nvidia’s sharp drop overnight defied its stronger-than-expected earnings and bullish outlook. SoftBank plunged more than 10% in Tokyo. The Japanese tech conglomerate recently offloaded its Nvidia shares but still controls British semiconductor company Arm, which supplies Nvidia with chip architecture and designs. SoftBank is also involved in a number of AI ventures that use Nvidia’s technology, including the $500 billion Stargate project for data centers in the U.S. The retreat in major Asian semiconductor giants comes after Nvidia fell over 3% in the U.S. on Thursday, despite beating Wall Street expectations in its third-quarter earnings the night before.
OpenAI is partnering with Taiwan’s Foxconn, the world’s largest contract electronics manufacturer, to design and build artificial intelligence data center components in the U.S., the AI startup’s latest announcement tied to its massive infrastructure development plans. While no financial terms were disclosed, OpenAI said in Thursday’s announcement that it will have early access to evaluate the systems Foxconn produces, and the option to purchase them. The companies said the goal is to accelerate the deployment of infrastructure while securing long-term U.S. capacity. “This partnership is a step toward ensuring the core technologies of the AI era are built here,” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said in a statement, calling AI infrastructure a “generational opportunity to reindustrialize America.”
Intuit forecast second-quarter revenue growth above Wall Street estimates on Thursday, a sign of growing demand for its artificial intelligence-powered financial management tools. The company, which offers products such as tax-preparation software TurboTax, finance portal Credit Karma and accounting tool QuickBooks, is benefiting as customers increasingly seek personalized financial guidance and automated solutions for tasks such as bookkeeping. On Tuesday, Intuit signed a multi-year deal worth more than $100 million with OpenAI to use the ChatGPT maker’s AI models to power the company’s AI agents, systems capable of taking actions on behalf of users. The company is doubling down on developing "done-for-you" services that combine AI and expert-assisted services, helping customers manage their sales leads to cash flow.
Gap beat Wall Street expectations for third-quarter comparable sales on Thursday, helped by strong marketing-driven demand for its Old Navy and Banana Republic brand apparel even amid economic uncertainty. The apparel maker has banked on efforts such as introducing limited-edition products in collaborations with Disney, Netflix’s "Stranger Things", and Universal’s "Wicked". This has helped attract customers at a time when consumer spending in the U.S. has been pressured by persistent inflation and the Trump administration’s volatile trade policies. The retailer had also launched initiatives such as "Better in Denim" featuring global girl group Katseye, alongside campaigns such as "Feels Like Gap" and "Get Loose with Troye Sivan", which helped boost brand relevance among Gen Z. The brand has also been preparing to launch an affordable beauty and personal care line this fall in a bid to diversify beyond apparel.
U.S. wireless carrier Verizon on Thursday said it will cut more than 13,000 jobs in its largest single layoff as it works to shrink costs and restructure operations. Verizon also said it plans to convert 179 corporate-owned retail stores into franchised operations and close one store. The company said in a filing that it expects to record a severance charge of $1.6 billion to $1.8 billion in the fourth quarter and that more than 80% of the affected employees will leave next month. Verizon shares fell 1% on Thursday. Verizon’s new CEO, Dan Schulman, said in a note to employees the company would reduce its workforce by more than 13,000 employees across the organization, and significantly reduce outsourced and other outside labour expenses. Reuters and other outlets reported last week Verizon was planning to cut around 15,000 jobs. Most of the cuts are to its U.S. workforce.