Business
  Asian shares tumble as Big Tech sell-off on Wall Street rattles markets
  05-11-2025

Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index plunged more than 4% on Wednesday, leading a broad decline across Asian markets after a sharp sell-off in U.S. Big Tech stocks shook investor confidence.

By midday, the Nikkei was down 4.7% at 49,104.05. Shares of chipmaker Tokyo Electron slid 6.1%, while semiconductor testing firm Advantest Corp. tumbled 10%.

In South Korea, the Kospi fell 3.7% to 3,977.24 as major tech firms followed the global downturn. Samsung Electronics dropped 4.4%, and SK Hynix lost 2.7% despite its recent rally on artificial intelligence collaborations with Nvidia.


Chinese markets were less affected, with the Shanghai Composite slipping 0.3% to 3,946.78 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index down 1.1% to 25,656.90.

The sell-off followed steep declines on Wall Street overnight. The technology-heavy Nasdaq fell 2% to 23,348.64, the S&P 500 dropped 1.2% to 6,771.55, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.5% to 47,085.24.

Investors were spooked by losses in tech giants that have powered much of this year’s market gains. Palantir Technologies fell 7.9% despite better-than-expected results, Nvidia slipped 4%, and Microsoft lost 0.5%. Uber also tumbled 5.1% after posting strong earnings, suggesting that even upbeat reports are struggling to lift sentiment.

The broader market remains focused on corporate earnings, with around 75% of S&P 500 companies having reported results that mostly beat expectations. Key reports due later this week include McDonald’s, Expedia Group, and Qualcomm.

Complicating matters for Wall Street, a U.S. government shutdown has halted key economic data releases, leaving investors and the Federal Reserve without crucial updates on inflation and employment. Consumer prices rose 3% in September—the fastest pace since January—while job growth has slowed, adding uncertainty to the Fed’s next interest rate decision.

Tesla shares fell 5.1% after Norway’s sovereign wealth fund said it would vote against a proposed compensation plan that could award CEO Elon Musk up to $1 trillion over the next decade. The proposal will face a vote during the company’s annual meeting on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Yum Brands surged 7.3% after announcing plans to potentially sell its struggling Pizza Hut division. Novo Nordisk slipped 1.8% after raising its bid for drugmaker Metsera, which jumped 20.5%, while rival Pfizer declined 1.5%.

In commodities, U.S. benchmark crude oil fell 31 cents to $60.25 a barrel, and Brent crude dropped 28 cents to $64.16. The dollar weakened slightly to 153.33 yen, while the euro edged up to $1.1493.