(Bloomberg) — Asian technology stocks gained while Nasdaq 100 futures rebounded from earlier declines, after dip buyers stepped in to steady the index late in US trading.
Two stocks rose for every one that declined in the MSCI Asia Pacific Technology Index. Advantest Corp. and Samsung Electronics Co. were among the gainers. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. rose 0.9% after its biggest one-day fall in four months Wednesday. Contracts for the Nasdaq 100 index advanced 0.1%.
Oil held its gains after a report showed a drawdown in US reserves. Treasuries steadied after climbing across the curve in the prior session. The yield on Japan’s 20-year government bond rose to the highest since 1999 while China’s 30-year government bond yield reached the highest since December as a selloff accelerated amid a rally in local stocks.
Technology shares – particularly megacap companies – were under pressure over the past two sessions, as a steep rally since April stoked concern it may have gone too far, too quickly. Still, markets are in a wait-and-see mode as central bankers convene in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, with investors awaiting remarks from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.
“There remains a bearish skew for equities at the moment,” said Kyle Rodda, a senior market analyst at Capital.com in Melbourne. “Equity prices are beginning to reflect the risk of disappointment at Jackson Hole, with doubts circulating about whether the Fed will pivot as aggressively in the dovish direction implied by rates markets – or even pivot at all.”
Technology stocks dropped Wednesday with the Nasdaq 100 index declining for a second consecutive day. A gauge of the so-called ‘Magnificent Seven’ tech firms fell for a fourth consecutive day, the longest losing streak since mid April.
US stocks are “in the early days” of a bubble, although the critical point for a correction has yet to come, Oaktree Capital Management LP co-founder Howard Marks cautioned.
Declines for US megacaps dragged down the S&P 500 for a fourth straight session, despite a bounce off session lows. While most major groups in the US equity benchmark finished higher, some strategists warned that the extra-heavy weighting of tech giants may turn the “rotation” out of the sector into a broader rout.
“Rotation can only take place if the tech stocks hold up,” said Matt Maley at Miller Tabak. “If they decline, the only rotation we’ll see will be into cash.”
Meanwhile, minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee’s July 29-30 meeting showed most Fed officials highlighted inflation risks as outweighing concerns over the labor market at their meeting last month, as tariffs fueled a growing divide within the central bank’s rate-setting committee.
Officials acknowledged worries over higher inflation and weaker employment, but a majority of the 18 policymakers in attendance “judged the upside risk to inflation as the greater of these two risks,” according to the minutes.
Given the Fed is already split on rate cuts, “the balance is going to shift in favor of those doves, who are going to be more willing to look through tariff-driven inflation,” Ian Samson, a multi-asset portfolio manager at Fidelity International, said in a Bloomberg TV interview.
In other Fed news, Governor Lisa Cook signaled her intention to remain at the central bank in defiance of calls for her resignation by President Donald Trump over allegations of mortgage fraud.
Corporate News:
Senior employees of Singapore property conglomerate CapitaLand Group Pte allegedly took bribes from a longtime contractor of its projects in India, according to a lawsuit filed in the city-state. Commonwealth Bank of Australia reversed a decision to cut 45 customer service roles due to new artificial intelligence technology after pressure from the country’s main financial services union. Great Eastern shares tumble as much as 50% in Singapore after the life insurer resumes trading for the first time in over a year. Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
S&P 500 futures were little changed as of 11:52 a.m. Tokyo time Japan’s Topix fell 0.5% Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.9% Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was little changed The Shanghai Composite rose 0.4% Euro Stoxx 50 futures rose 0.2% Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed The euro was little changed at $1.1646 The Japanese yen was little changed at 147.34 per dollar The offshore yuan was little changed at 7.1761 per dollar Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin fell 0.4% to $113,938.36 Ether fell 1.6% to $4,285.26 Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 4.29% Japan’s 10-year yield was unchanged at 1.600% Australia’s 10-year yield declined four basis points to 4.26% Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.5% to $63.02 a barrel Spot gold fell 0.1% to $3,344.36 an ounce This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Richard Henderson, Joanna Ossinger, Abhishek Vishnoi and Joanne Wong.
©2025 Bloomberg L.P.