Investing.com — Asian stocks mostly fell on Tuesday as renewed pressure on technology shares collided with geopolitical uncertainty, with investors trimming risk ahead of ’s earnings and the U.S. Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge.
The MSCI AC Asia Pacific equity gauge fell about 0.5%. U.S. equity futures were steadier in Asia, with Futures up 0.3% and S&P 500 Futures gaining 0.1%, after Wall Street ended lower on Monday.
The move came as investors weighed a fresh bout of selling in U.S. semiconductor stocks ahead of Nvidia’s earnings on Wednesday. The company is expected to post quarterly revenue of roughly $92 billion, making the results an important test of whether the AI-driven rally can meet increasingly demanding expectations.
The risk-off tone was reinforced after the Trump administration threatened to broaden secondary sanctions on countries doing business with Tehran under its so-called “economic D-Day” strategy, although the measures announced so far fell short of a major escalation. Oil prices consequently pulled back, with around $92 a barrel.
slips as Samsung, retreat ahead of Nvidia
South Korea’s KOSPI pared a sharper early decline to trade 1.3% lower. SK Hynix dropped 3.5%, while declined 1.8%.
The pullback follows a powerful rebound in Korean technology stocks. Samsung also came under pressure after its newly announced shareholder-return package disappointed investors, while Nvidia’s results now loom as the next major catalyst for the semiconductor complex.
Japan was more resilient. The rose 0.2% and added 0.3%, while chip-related names were mixed: gained 0.7%, rose 0.4%, but fell 1.6%, slipped 0.2% and eased 0.1%.
The broader technology complex remains vulnerable to higher borrowing costs and concerns that the huge sums being committed to AI infrastructure will take longer to translate into earnings and cash flow.
Political resistance is also building. Texas Governor Greg Abbott has criticized data-center developers and ordered a pause on approvals for new projects through the state’s grid interconnection process, citing concerns over electricity demand and grid reliability.
Australia gains as earnings keep stocks afloat; China, Hong Kong retreat
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.6%. Coles () gained about 2.3% after posting a stronger-than-expected FY2026 result.
Energy companies have also benefited from the disruption caused by the Middle East conflict.
reported a 7% rise in first-half profit, but shares fell 1% after it scrapped its $5 billion clean-energy investment target and refocused on oil and gas. extended gains by 0.8% after a sharp earnings surge on Monday, with shares hitting their highest level since April 2024 after the result.
India’s was down 0.3%, while Singapore’s gained 0.3%. China and Hong Kong weakened, with the down 0.5%, the off 0.14% and the losing 0.3%.
Indonesia and Malaysia were closed for the Prophet Muhammad’s Birthday, with both markets scheduled to resume trading Wednesday.
Markets are also watching the U.S. PCE inflation report due Wednesday, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure. Traders currently expect one 25-basis-point Fed hike by the end of 2026.