Aerial view of vehicles traveling on a road through the central business district of Beijing, China.
Video Visual China Group | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets fell on Monday after Wall Street fell in the US on Friday as investors took a breather from AI trading.
“(Friday) is the day when value outpaces growth,” said Jed Ellerbrook, portfolio manager at Argent Capital Management. “Investors are definitely cautious when it comes to AI. I don’t think they’re completely pessimistic, but I think they’re just kind of cautious and nervous and hesitant.”
Asian traders will also be keeping an eye on key data from China, which will report retail sales, fixed asset investment and industrial output for November.
South Korea’s Kospi fell 2.16%, and the small-cap Kosdaq fell 1.17%. Memory chip maker SK Hynix, which is at the top of the index, fell more than 4%, and Samsung Electronics fell 3.3%.
Japan announced its fourth quarter Tankan figures. The economic optimism index for Japan’s major manufacturers rose to +15 in the fourth quarter, the highest level in four years.
The latest reading compared with an increase of 14 in the previous quarter and was in line with expectations from economists polled by Reuters. The non-manufacturing index for the fourth quarter was +34.
The Tankan survey conducted by the Bank of Japan measures the business confidence of businesses in the world’s fourth largest economy.
