A pedestrian wears a protective mask as he is reflected on an electronic stock board outside a securities firm in Tokyo, Japan. Picture: BLOOMBERG/SOICHIRO KORIYAMA
TSMC, Asia’s biggest firm by market capitalisation outside China, fell almost 4% after its earnings on Thursday. TSMC’s fall weighed on many other semiconductor related shares in the region, with South Korea’s Kospi down 0.6% and Japan’s Nikkei losing 1.1%. The Russell 2000 index of US small cap shares dropped 0.6% to a near two-month low. Once-booming special purpose acquisition companies , or blank check companies, were completely out of favour, with Ipox Spac index hitting a seven-month low.
The 10-year US Treasuries yield fell to 1.302%, edging near a five-month low of 1.250% touched last week.Bond yields fell even as data earlier this week showed US consumer inflation hitting its highest in 13 years.