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Informist, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026                                      Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

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Equity Alert: Asian mkts open dn amid fall in chip stocks, higher bond ylds

 

MUMBAI--0813 IST--Asian indices opened lower on Wednesday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street. October Brent crude oil futures rose to nearly $92 per barrel as there were few signs of a swift resolution to the war in West Asia. South Korea extended its losses from Tuesday and was the worst performer among regional peers. In Japan, both the Nikkei 225 and broader Topix fell sharply in early trade amid higher bond yields.

 

Stocks of major chipmakers tracked losses in their US peers and weighed on the Kospi during early trade. Index heavyweight SK Hynix shed around 8%, leading losses in the sector. Samsung Electronics shed around 7%. On Wednesday, Samsung announced it would invest around $158 million to set up a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning unit in Gwangju, South Korea. The unit will manufacture products for FlaktGroup, which Samsung Electronics acquired last year.

 

In Japan, both the Nikkei 225 and Topix fell around 3% in early trade. Shares of semiconductor companies and electrical equipment manufacturers were among the chief laggards. Chipmaker Renesas Electronics shed 8%, as did electrical equipment manufacturers Fujikura and Sumitomo Electric Industries. Amid concerns over higher crude oil prices and global inflationary pressures from the ongoing war in West Asia, bond yields inched higher worldwide. The yield on Japan's benchmark 10-year government bond climbed to a three-decade high on Tuesday, according to media reports.

 

The following are the levels of key indices in the region at 0815 IST: 

 

Index	Level	Change in %
Nikkei 225 Day	65724.25	(-)2.6
TOPIX FIRST SECTION	4027.35	(-)2.7
S&P/ASX 200 Index	9036.2	(-)0.4
KOSPI Index	6509.15	(-)5.3
Hang Seng Index	25469.86	(-)0.01
CSI 300 Index	4629.88	(-)2.0
FTSE Singapore Strait Times	5690.82	(-)0.2

(Shruti Nair)

Informist, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026                                      Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

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Equity Alert: US indices end lower as bond yields rise amid higher oil prices

 

MUMBAI--0730 IST--US indices ended lower Tuesday as fears of inflation and oil prices remaining higher pushed sovereign bond yields to their highest level in decades. All three major indices ended lower for the third consecutive session. Losses in semiconductor stocks pulled down the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite harder than its peers. The index closed over 1% lower.

 

Stocks of chip majors and allied stocks were among the worst-hit Tuesday. Shares of data-storage player Western Digital ended over 7% lower, while chip major Sandisk closed more than 9% lower. Marvell Technology closed nearly 8% lower.

 

Tuesday offered little hope to global investors awaiting signs of a resolution to the West Asia war. US President Donald Trump said in a social media post that the US was not involved in any "talks or conversations" with Iran, nor are there any scheduled. He also said that the naval blockade "remains in full force and effect". Subsequently, oil prices remained higher with the October futures contract of Brent crude oil touching nearly $92 per barrel.

 

With investors remaining anxious over the prospects of oil prices remaining high, yields on government bonds across several countries have been rising lately. Tuesday, yields on 30-year US treasury bonds touched their highest level since 2007. In Europe, yields on Germany's 30-year bond touched their highest level since 2011, while those of its French counterpart touched their highest point since 2008, according to a CNBC report. Further, the yield on Japan's 10-year bond breached a three-decade high.

 

"It starts off almost like a domino effect. Talks break down. That leads to oil prices going up. That leads to higher inflation expectations and bond yields rise," Burns McKinney, portfolio manager at NFJ Investment Group, told Reuters. He added that "every time bond yields rise, that tends to disproportionately hit the technology names."

 

Investors in the US will also look out for the minutes from the US Federal Reserve's July meeting due later in the day for clues about how the regulator is assessing the current climate.

 

Following are the closing levels of major US indices Tuesday:

 

Index	Level	Change in %
Dow Jones Industrial Average	53343.4	(-)0.2
NASDAQ Composite	26289.7	(-)1.3
S&P 500	7691.76	(-)0.7

 

 

(Shruti Nair)

 

US$1 = INR 95.68

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

 

Edited by Saji George Titus

 

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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