Asian stocks fell this week, posting the longest streak of weekly losses in more than 18 months amid concern growth is slowing in China, the world’s second-largest economy.
CNOOC Ltd (中國海洋石油) slumped 8.7 percent in Hong Kong after an output growth forecast from China’s biggest offshore oil and gas producer fell short of its five-year average target. Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd (中國工商銀行) fell 2.5 percent as investors in a troubled trust product distributed by the lender met officials, demanding their money amid concern of a default. Newcrest Mining Ltd, a gold producer, climbed 3.2 percent in Sydney as the precious metal capped a fifth week of gains.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index slid 1.4 percent to 137.64 this week. The gauge fell a fourth straight week as a preliminary survey from HSBC Holdings and Markit Economics indicated Chinese factory output would shrink this month. The measure’s 5.1 percent advance from the end of August pushed valuations on the gauge to 13 times estimated earnings, above the average multiple during the past three years.
“There will be a correction of 10 percent or more,” Monty Guild, chief investment officer of Los Angeles-based Guild Investment Management Inc, said by e-mail about stocks globally. “We see China as an unattractive place to invest.”
Japan’s TOPIX fell 2.5 percent this week and the Nikkei 225 Stock Average declined 2.2 percent as the yen strengthened against the US dollar. South Korea’s KOSPI lost 2.4 percent, Singapore’s Straits Times Index slid 2.3 percent and New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index declined 0.4 percent.
Taiwan’s TAIEX was little changed this week at 8,598.31, with reduced turnover on Friday as investors retreated from the trading floor ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, dealers said.
Equity markets will be closed from Tuesday to Feb. 4.
Buying in select large-cap electronics stocks, such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), on Friday helped offset the impact from the losses posted on Wall Street overnight, while the construction sector faced relatively heavy selling due to a new government measure that aims to cap luxury home prices, dealers said.
In the construction sector, which closed down 0.74 percent, Farglory Land Development Co (遠雄建設) lost 1.52 percent to close at NT$48.50 and Chong Hong Construction Co (長虹建設) was down 1.81 percent at NT$81.60.
Meanwhile, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index retreated 1.2 percent on the week, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slid 2.95 percent and the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, known as the H-share gauge of mainland Chinese firms listed in the territory, slipped 1.5 percent.
In other markets on Friday:
Mumbai fell 1.12 percent, or 240.1 points, from Thursday to 21,133.56.
Manila rose 0.35 percent, or 21.45 points, to 6,191.50.
WEAKER ACTIVITY: The sharpest deterioration was seen in the electronics and optical components sector, with the production index falling 13.2 points to 44.5 Taiwan’s manufacturing sector last month contracted for a second consecutive month, with the purchasing managers’ index (PMI) slipping to 48, reflecting ongoing caution over trade uncertainties, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. The decline reflects growing caution among companies amid uncertainty surrounding US tariffs, semiconductor duties and automotive import levies, and it is also likely linked to fading front-loading activity, CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) said. “Some clients have started shifting orders to Southeast Asian countries where tariff regimes are already clear,” Lien told a news conference. Firms across the supply chain are also lowering stock levels to mitigate
IN THE AIR: While most companies said they were committed to North American operations, some added that production and costs would depend on the outcome of a US trade probe Leading local contract electronics makers Wistron Corp (緯創), Quanta Computer Inc (廣達), Inventec Corp (英業達) and Compal Electronics Inc (仁寶) are to maintain their North American expansion plans, despite Washington’s 20 percent tariff on Taiwanese goods. Wistron said it has long maintained a presence in the US, while distributing production across Taiwan, North America, Southeast Asia and Europe. The company is in talks with customers to align capacity with their site preferences, a company official told the Taipei Times by telephone on Friday. The company is still in talks with clients over who would bear the tariff costs, with the outcome pending further
Six Taiwanese companies, including contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), made the 2025 Fortune Global 500 list of the world’s largest firms by revenue. In a report published by New York-based Fortune magazine on Tuesday, Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), ranked highest among Taiwanese firms, placing 28th with revenue of US$213.69 billion. Up 60 spots from last year, TSMC rose to No. 126 with US$90.16 billion in revenue, followed by Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) at 348th, Pegatron Corp (和碩) at 461st, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) at 494th and Wistron Corp (緯創) at
NEGOTIATIONS: Semiconductors play an outsized role in Taiwan’s industrial and economic development and are a major driver of the Taiwan-US trade imbalance With US President Donald Trump threatening to impose tariffs on semiconductors, Taiwan is expected to face a significant challenge, as information and communications technology (ICT) products account for more than 70 percent of its exports to the US, Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) said on Friday. Compared with other countries, semiconductors play a disproportionately large role in Taiwan’s industrial and economic development, Lien said. As the sixth-largest contributor to the US trade deficit, Taiwan recorded a US$73.9 billion trade surplus with the US last year — up from US$47.8 billion in 2023 — driven by strong
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