Asia-Pacific markets fell Wednesday, with stocks in South Korea and Taiwan leading declines as major tech firms including chipmakers came under pressure after Barclays downgraded Apple.
Apple shares dropped least 4% on Tuesday, after Barclays cut the iPhone maker’s rating to underweight and trimmed its price target to $160 from $161. Apple suppliers in major Asia markets fell, weighing down indexes in Taiwan and South Korea.
South Korea’s Kospi closed 2.34% lower at 2,607.31, while the small-cap Kosdaq fell 0.84% to end at 871.57. Most technology and chip stocks including Samsung Electronics, LG Corporation and SK Hynix fell about 3% each.
The Taiwan Weighted Index closed 1.65% lower at 17,559.31, with shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company down 2.53% and Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn, falling 0.48%.
In India, factory activity data from S&P Global came in below expectations for December, according to a survey by S&P Global. The purchasing managers’ index for December hit an 18-month low of 54.9, compared with the 55.9 expected by economists polled by Reuters.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 retreated 1.37% after hitting an all-time high on Tuesday, closing at 7,523.2.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 0.94%, while China’s CSI 300 closed 0.24% lower at 3,378.30.
Japan’s markets are closed until Thursday. A Japan Airlines flight collided with a coast guard aircraft at Tokyo’s Haneda airport on Tuesday, causing five deaths.
Overnight in the U.S. the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.63% and the S&P500 slid 0.57%. Apple shares fell more than 3% after Barclays downgraded the Magnificent Seven stock to “underweight.” The Dow Jones Industrial Average managed to stay afloat as defensive stocks such as Johnson & Johnson and Merck gained.
