Investing.com– Most Asian stocks fell on Wednesday, weighed by renewed losses in the technology sector as key overnight earnings in the U.S. underwhelmed, while sentiment towards China also showed few signs of improving.
Regional stocks took a weak lead-in from Wall Street, especially a fall in U.S. stock index futures following underwhelming earnings from heavyweights Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) and Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL).
This sparked extended selling in technology stocks, which came as the sector nursed steep losses through the past week. Profit-taking and a rotation into more economically sensitive sectors battered global tech valuations over the past year.
Asian tech lags after soft US earnings
Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.5%, while South Korea’s KOSPI shed 0.1%, as losses in tech stocks weighed.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was among the worst performers for the day, losing 0.6% as major electric vehicle stocks fell in tandem with Tesla.
BYD (SZ:002594) Co Ltd (HK:1211), Li Auto Inc (HK:2015) and Xpeng Inc (HK:9868) slid between 2% and 4.3%, tracking a nearly 8% slide in Tesla after the firm’s second-quarter profit missed expectations.
Tesla was seen grappling with softening sales and mounting expenses as it diverted more resources towards artificial intelligence and self-driving technology.
Alphabet’s earnings also provided weak cues to Asian markets. While the internet giant did beat expectations with its earnings, slower growth in ad revenue and increased expenditure on AI heralded a similar trend for regional tech giants, who are due to report in the coming weeks. Alphabet’s shares fell 2% in aftermarket trade.
