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Informist, Monday, Aug. 3, 2026                                      Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

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Equity Alert: Asian markets open lower, dragged down by tech stocks

 

MUMBAI--0750 IST--Asian indices opened lower Monday with South Korea's Kospi plunging more than 4%. The index heavyweights Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix fell more than 7% and 6%, respectively. Mainland China's CSI 300 fell around 1% while Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose around 1%, led by gains in technology stocks. Key constituents Alibaba and Baidu rose around 6% and 4%, respectively. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index fell slightly. 

 

Japan's automobile maker Toyota Motors is expected to report a decline in its operating profit for the fifth consecutive quarter, Reuters reported. The carmaker is likely to report profit of $7.04 billion, down 5% on year, for the June quarter. The decline will be due to weaker vehicle sales and rising costs during the quarter. Investors will closely watch out for the management's commentary on the impact of a Southern Japan earthquake on its production facilities. Shares of Toyota Motors fell more than 4%.

 

On the macroeconomic front, South Korea's factory activity expanded at a stronger pace in July. South Korea's Purchasing Managers' Index stood at 53.1 in July, slightly up from 52.1 in June, according to reports published by S&P Global. "Positive signals extended to hiring and purchasing activity, as firms responded to increasing capacity and production requirements," Usamah Bhatti, an economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said in the report. "...cost pressures remained historically elevated, though the rate of input price inflation slowed to a pace not seen since February," Bhatti said. 

 

Japan's Purchasing Managers' Index stood at 54.5 in July, down slightly from 54.8 in June. Business conditions in the country became stronger for the seventh month in a row and manufacturing production witnessed its sharpest rise in nearly 12-and-a-half years, the S&P Global report noted. Meanwhile, Japan's headline benchmark index, the Nikkei 225, and the broader market, Topix, were down over 2?ch. 

 

Following are the levels of key indices in the region at 0732 IST: 

 

Index	Level	Change in %
Nikkei 225 Day	62955.47	(-)2.2
TOPIX FIRST SECTION	3906.25	(-)2.4
S&P/ASX 200 Index	8959.40	(-)0.2
KOSPI Index	6312.32	(-)4.3
Hang Seng Index	26102.64	0.8
CSI 300 Index	4548.78	(-)0.9
FTSE Singapore Strait Times	5624.77	(-)0.1

 

(Deesha Jadhav)

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Equity Alert: US mkts end higher, Amazon ends 15% up after higher earnings

 

MUMBAI--0703 IST--Major US indices ended higher Friday led by gains in shares of Amazon. The technology heavyweight closed 15% higher after the company reported a favourable revenue growth. The Nasdaq Composite closed 1% higher. The S&P 500 closed around 1% higher and the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed modestly higher. Monday, the October futures contract of Brent Crude oil fell nearly 5% to around $84 a barrel after US President Donald Trump cancelled a new wave of strikes on Iran on Sunday.

 

Even though most tech companies are posting higher earnings, investors are less willing to overlook the spending on artificial intelligence, CNBC quoted Megan Horneman, chief investment officer at Verdence Capital Advisors, as saying. Microsoft closed more than 3% higher, but Apple closed 7% lower over demand concerns. The PHLX Semiconductor Index ended marginally higher. 

Investors await earnings from tech companies such as Palantir and semiconductor giants like Advanced Micro Devices due this week. Earnings from McDonald's, Kraft Heinz, Costco Wholesale, and Walt Disney are also due this week. The investors will have full labour market data Friday. The US economy is likely to add 87,500 non-farm payrolls in July, up from 57,000 jobs the previous month, according to FactSet consensus estimates. The unemployment rate is also likely to rise to 4.3% from 4.2%.

 

Following were the closing levels of major US indices Friday:
 

Index	Level	Change in %
Dow Jones Industrial Average	52485.03	0.5
NASDAQ Composite	25373.85	1.0
S&P 500	7489.72	0.7

 

(Deesha Jadhav)

 

US$1 = INR 95.38

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

 

Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury

 

All prices from National Stock Exchange, unless otherwise specified.

All percentage changes for share prices are rounded off to the nearest whole number; percentage changes for index values are rounded off to one decimal place.

All times are Indian Standard Time.

 

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