Asian stocks mixed as Fed cheer cools, tech hit by Nvidia’s China warning

Investing.com-- Asian stocks were a mixed bag on Wednesday as a recent rally- powered by easing fears of a hawkish Federal Reserve- appeared to have paused.

Technology stocks saw some losses, particularly those with exposure to NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) after the world’s most valuable chipmaker warned of a severe downturn in Chinese revenue, even after posting strong quarterly earnings.

Chinese stocks fell as a rebound from multi-year lows appeared to be running out of steam. The Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 and Shanghai Composite indexes shed about 0.5% and 0.3%, respectively, as investors awaited more cues on stimulus measures promised by Beijing.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was flat, as broader losses were offset by strength in internet giant Baidu Inc (HK:9888) (NASDAQ:BIDU). The stock surged over 5% and was the top performer on the Hang Seng, after it beat expectations for its quarterly earnings and flagged a limited impact from U.S. chip curbs against China. 

Major Chinese property stocks still saw some strength, as media reports showed Beijing drafting a list of developers that were eligible for funding support. 

But broader weakness in China spilled over into Australia, where the ASX 200 fell 0.1%. Australian stocks were also hit by warnings on inflation from Reserve Bank Governor Michele Bullock, which could herald more interest rate hikes. 

Futures for India's Nifty 50 index pointed to a flat open.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 was the sole outperformer for the day, rising 0.5% and resuming a climb back to 33-year highs. A batch of strong earnings, coupled with a dovish outlook for the Bank of Japan, were the key drivers of a stellar rally in Japanese markets this year. 

The Nikkei was trading up nearly 30% so far in 2023. 

Broader Asian stocks were sitting on strong gains over the past few sessions, as a slew of weak U.S. inflation and labor readings spurred bets that the Federal Reserve was done raising interest rates.

But the minutes of the Fed’s late-October meeting, released on Tuesday, cast some doubts over this notion, given that they reiterated the Fed’s stance to keep rates higher for longer.

The minutes spurred some recovery in the dollar and Treasury yields, which in turn weighed on risk-driven assets. Technology stocks also saw some losses on this trade.

Asian tech slips as Nvidia warns of China revenue drop 

Tech-heavy Asian bourses slipped on Wednesday, with Nvidia suppliers leading losses after the firm warned that its revenue from China stood to fall substantially due to U.S. curbs on chip exports to the country.

South Korea’s KOSPI fell 0.3%, weighed by losses in memory chip makers SK Hynix Inc (KS:000660) and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (KS:005930). 

TSMC (TW:2330) (NYSE:TSM)- a major Nvidia supplier- sank over 1% in Taiwan trade, pulling the Taiwan Weighted index lower by a similar margin. In Japan, chip testing equipment maker and Nvidia supplier Advantest Corp. (TYO:6857) lost nearly 3%. 

But most regional tech stocks were coming off recent highs, having seen a strong run-up over the past few sessions on easing Fed fears and anticipation of the Nvidia earnings. The chipmaker still beat on its EPS and revenue, and also forecast December quarter revenue above market expectations, citing increased demand from artificial intelligence development.