SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Chip shares dragged Asian indexes lower on Wednesday and European futures fell after growth concerns drove the steepest selloff in a month on Wall Street and investors wiped $279 billion from the value of market darling chipmaker Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA).
Oil hit year-to-date lows in Asia trade, the safe-haven yen rose, Japanese stocks fell more than 3% and the regional shares ex-Japan dropped nearly 2%. [MKTS/GLOB]
Here are analyst and investor comments on market moves:
NICK FERRES, CIO, VANTAGE POINT ASSET MANAGEMENT, SINGAPORE
“The ISM manufacturing index poured cold water on the benign growth outlook.
“Although equities have responded enthusiastically to the dovish rate outlook … a range of key leading indicators suggest that macro conditions appear likely to deteriorate more sharply looking forward. In that context, the S&P 500 valuation multiple, equity and credit premium offer insufficient compensation for risk.
“We fear another drawdown phase over the coming weeks.”
JUN BEI LIU, PORTFOLIO MANAGER, TRIBECA, SYDNEY
“People are taking a bit of profit off.
“There’s nothing fundamentally wrong with the equity market. If anything, things are actually looking pretty good. You’ve got 25 basis point cuts to start and quite a few to follow and the economy is slowing but not collapsing.
“The next few months will probably see the bottom of earnings and for investors, in the next few months is where you deploy into a lot of those opportunities.”
STEVEN LEUNG, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF INSTITUTIONAL SALES, UOB KAY HIAN, HONG KONG
“Hong Kong is pretty weak, so whenever we see a negative signal like that from the U.S., Hong Kong will be performing even worse.
