HONG KONG: Technology stocks were back in the crosshairs of investors on Wednesday (Aug 19), taking another heavy blow from a spike in bond yields, rising oil prices, persistent inflation and dimming hopes for a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
The selloff tracked losses on Wall Street, where firms heavily invested in AI and chips were sharply lower, staunching a recent recovery in the sector in recent weeks following a crushing July.
With the crisis in the Middle East showing few signs of ending – United States and Iranian officials have dug in and appear prepared for an extended standoff – crude prices are pushing back higher as traders factor in the crucial strait staying closed.
That has stoked inflation expectations and sent US government debt costs soaring.
The yield on a 30-year US Treasury on Tuesday hit its highest level since June 2007, before the global financial crisis, while 10-year yields are higher than before the first US-Israel strikes on Iran in late February.
Higher government borrowing and a flood of corporate issuance have added to the upward pressure.
National Australia Bank’s Rodrigo Catril said: “AI-linked stocks that have increased their borrowing levels are now seemingly showing a greater deal of sensitivity to the move up in higher longer-dated yields.”
US tech and chip giants including Nvidia, Intel, Micron, and Broadcom took a battering, dragging the Nasdaq and S&P 500 lower.
And in Asia, Seoul’s Kospi, the poster child of the AI tech rally, lost more than 5 per cent as chip titans SK hynix and Samsung were clobbered at least 7 per cent.
Tokyo shed more than 2 per cent, with Kioxia off around 10 per cent and investment giant SoftBank faring little better.
Shanghai, Taipei, and Manila were all down more than 1 per cent, while there were also losses in Hong Kong, Sydney, Singapore and Jakarta.
“Higher yields will increase borrowing costs for hyperscalers, raising questions about the outlook for capital spending and the potential impact on AI infrastructure companies,” said Kazunori Tatebe of Daiwa Asset Management.
Both main crude contracts rose more than 1 per cent, with Brent hovering around US$92 a barrel, as the chances of any Middle East deal thin after Trump said he would not extend a 60-day truce.
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