Asian stocks sink, slammed by tech losses

SEOUL, Korea, Republic Of — Asian stock markets were in the red Wednesday as tech stocks extended losses following sell-offs of their U.S. peers overnight. Investors are selling technology-related shares on concern governments might tighten their scrutiny over Facebook after it was revealed that users’ data was shared with a consulting firm affiliated with President Donald Trump.

KEEPING SCORE: Japan’s Nikkei 225 sank 1.3 per cent to 21,031.31 and South Korea’s Kospi slid 1.3 per cent to 2,419.29. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 1.7 per cent to 30,277.57, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index dropped 1.5 per cent to 3,118.74. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 retreated 0.7 per cent to 5,789.50. Stocks in Taiwan, Singapore and other Southeast Asian countries also fell.

BAD DAY FOR TECH: Investors cut their holdings of Asian tech stocks after a series of incidents sent their U.S. peers lower again. One of those cases is a report that authorities will investigate a fatal crash that involved a Tesla electric SUV equipped with a semi-autonomous control system. In Asia, Samsung Electronics Co. fell 2.6 per cent and Sony Corp. lost 1.1 per cent. Softbank Group Corp. slumped 4 per cent. Tencent Holdings Ltd. was down 3.7 per cent.

ANALYST VIEWPOINT: “So what spooked markets? Well, it looks like the rearing of the (ugly) Facebook privacy infringement was a convenient excuse to sell-off ahead of the long weekend,” Mizuho Bank said in a commentary.

WALL STREET: U.S. stock markets finished sharply lower Tuesday pulled down by Nvidia, Microsoft, Tesla, Twitter, Facebook and other technology companies. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 1.7 per cent to 2,612.62. The Dow tumbled 1.4 per cent to 23,857.71. The tech-heavy Nasdaq slid 2.9 per cent to 7,008.81. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks gave up 2 per cent to 1,513.57.

OIL: Benchmark U.S. crude lost 55 cents to $64.71 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract declined 30 cents to settle at $65.25 a barrel on Tuesday. Brent crude, used to price international oils, fell 52 cents to $68.94 per barrel in London.

CURRENCIES: The dollar rose to 105.62 yen from 105.34 yen. The euro fell to $1.2397 from $1.2404.