Indexes in Japan and South Korea opened lower along with Australian stocks. Samsung Electronics Co. and SK Hynix Inc. slid after the US Commerce Department removed the companies from the list of entities authorized to move some goods from China without a license. MSCI’s gauge of Asian shares slid as much as 0.4%.
Contracts for the S&P 500 rose 0.2% and those for the Nasdaq 100 index advanced 0.3% amid a US federal appeals court ruling that President Donald Trump’s sweeping trade tariffs were illegal. US markets are closed for the Labor Day holiday. Brent crude fell 1.1%, after notching its first monthly loss since April, while a gauge of the dollar was steady.
Chinese stock markets will be in focus after Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. jumped 13% in New York trading Friday after it reported a surge in revenue from China’s AI boom. However, the country’s factory activity remained stuck in contraction in August, according to data released Sunday.
The Trump administration’s move will make it harder for companies to ship equipment to chipmaking operations in China, threatening production in the world’s largest semiconductor market. Investors must also contend with uncertainty over the president’s tariff campaign after a federal court ruled his global levies — which weigh heavily on Asia — were illegally imposed. For now, the duties remain in place.
“While a possible step towards no (or fewer, or lesser) tariffs would be positive for global trade and risk sentiment, uncertainty has ratcheted up a notch,” ANZ Group Holdings analysts including David Croy wrote in a note to clients.It’s a crucial time for equities and the next few weeks will give Wall Street a clear reading on whether the stock market rally will continue — or if it’s doomed to get derailed.Jobs reports, a key inflation reading and the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision all hit over the next 14 trading sessions, setting the tone for investors as they return from summer vacations. The events arrive with stock market seemingly at a crossroads as the S&P 500 Index heads into September, historically its worst month of the year.
September’s record remains on traders’ minds “but few managers will liquidate core holdings on seasonality alone,” Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone Group, wrote in a note. “It seems unlikely that, simply because we’ve moved into September, we’ll suddenly see a radical shift in conditions — especially as the macro environment hasn’t meaningfully changed.”
Political risks in Southeast Asian markets are also back in focus. Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto canceled a trip to China after deadly unrest over living costs and inequality, with protesters targeting the finance minister and several lawmakers. In Thailand, parties are jockeying to form the next government following the disqualification of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra.
US stocks slid on Friday amid a selloff in tech shares, led by Nvidia Corp., while Dell Technologies Inc. sank amid tighter profit margins on servers. AI infrastructure shares slid as Marvell Technology Inc.’s outlook raised concern about data-center equipment demand.
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