The potential US banking crisis and weaker regional growth reports eroded the investor sentiment in Asian markets. The markets stayed low on 27th Arpril, Thursday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index fell by 0.3%.
The Japanese index was hit by reported losses of Nomura Holdings and Advantest Corp. Nomura’s quarterly profits plummeted to 76% due to speculations of a banking crisis. The inflation and weakening of the Japanese currency Yen broke the investment banking portfolio.
Waning global chip demand hit the Advantest group as it lost 11% of its value on Nikkei index. Even Samsung in South Korea posted a record loss for its semiconductor unit. Samsung logged a 96% drop in its profits for Q1.
So, South Korea’s KOSPI index, like the rest of Asia, also stayed flat.
The high earnings reported by American Tech giants were offset by the fall of The First Republic Bank. Even China Q1 reports showed greater than expected industrial losses. America’s banking sector crisis and China’s economic turmoil combined negatively affected the market.
There was a 0.1% and 0.2% rise respectively on the Shanghai Shenzen CSI 300 and Shanghai Composite. Hang Seng in Honk Kong stayed flat.
India’s Nifty and BSE indexes also traded flat.
The market is focused on the release of vital GDP data on the US economy. The fear of recession in the biggest economy in the world is affecting markets across Asia. Investors are also speculating about the inflation and worries loom over yet another interest rate hike by the Federal Reserves in America next week.
