TOKYO : Chip stocks took a beating on Thursday, sending most Asian share indexes lower, following grim signals from Micron Technology overnight about excess inventories and sluggish demand.
"Inflation is likely to remain elevated for some time ... because in the U.S., at least, it's services that are driving inflation, and that can have greater persistency," Salim Ramji, global head of ETFs and index investments at BlackRock, told the Reuters Global Markets Forum on Wednesday.Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index tumbled 2.7 per cent, with its tech stocks slipping more than 5 per cent. Mainland Chinese shares also declined, with blue chips falling 1.2 per cent.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq slumped 1.5 per cent while the S&P 500 slid 0.8 per cent. Emini futures indicated little respite at the reopen, trading about flat. "Fed commentary, like the resilient spending numbers, gave little succour for anyone looking for an imminent pivot," Ted Nugent, a markets economist at National Australia Bank, wrote in a client note.