19/11/2025
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19/11/2025
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Currency traders pass by a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between US dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea on Nov 17. (AP)
TOKYO, Nov 19, (AP): Asian shares have retreated in cautious trading Wednesday ahead of an earnings report from Nvidia that is seen as a bellwether for the recent craze for artificial intelligence technology.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 slipped 0.3% to finish at 48,537.70.Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 0.3% to 25,844.80, while the Shanghai Composite rose 0.2% to 3,948.69. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.3% to 8,447.90, while South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.6% to 3,929.51. Taiwan’s Taiex lost 0.7%.
Nvidia was due to report its earnings for the last quarter later in the day. On Tuesday, share prices fell worldwide, with Nvidia leading Wall Street lower with a drop of 2.8%. That brought the chip maker’s loss for the month so far to more than 10%, a steep enough fall to be deemed a correction.
The S&P 500 declined 0.8% to 6,617.32, retreating further from its all-time high set late last month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1.1% to 46,091.74, while the Nasdaq composite sank 1.2% to 22,432.85.
Nvidia’s performance matters disproportionately to savers’ 401(k) accounts because its immense size means it’s the most influential stock on Wall Street. It single-handedly steers the direction of the S&P 500 some days, after fervent demand for its artificial-intelligence chips helped it briefly top $5 trillion in total value.
The US stock market’s recent struggles are a sharp turnaround from its nearly relentless rally since April, when Wall Street last sold off after President Donald Trump shocked the world with stiff tariffs.
That rally was so strong that critics say it may have carried prices too high, too fast and left the market at risk of a sharp drop. They point in particular to stocks swept up in the AI mania, which have been surging at spectacular speeds for years.
Traders also had earlier expected the Federal Reserve will cut its main interest rate at its next meeting in December, but now they aren’t as sure. The Fed has cut rates twice already this year in hopes of shoring up a slowing job market. But lower interest rates can make inflation worse, and inflation has stubbornly remained above the Fed’s 2% target.
