Asian Shares Decline On Fed Worries, US-China Trade Jitters

Asian stocks fell on Monday as better-than-expected U.S. jobs data released on Friday cemented bets of more large Federal Reserve rate hikes.

Lingering worries surrounding the Russia-Ukraine war and the U.S.-China chip war also dented sentiment.

Japanese and South Korean markets were closed for holidays.

Chinese shares tumbled, dragged down by Chinese chipmakers after the Biden administration published a sweeping set of export controls targeting Chinese companies, threatening to worsen trade ties between the world’s two largest economies.

Signs of fresh COVID outbreaks in the country and weak service sector data released over the weekend also weighed on markets.

China’s Shanghai Composite Index tumbled 1.7 percent to 2,974.15 ahead of a pivotal Communist Party congress while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index plunged 3.0 percent to close at 17,216.66.

Australian markets fell sharply, with financials and gold miners pacing the decliners. The benchmark S&P ASX 200 Index closed 1.4 percent lower at 6,667.80, while the broader All Ordinaries Index slid 1.5 percent to end at 6,872.

The big four banks fell between 1.4 percent and 1.7 percent, while gold miner Northern Star Resources gave up 4.4 percent and Newcrest shed 4 percent.

Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 Index ended down 1.7 percent at 10,918.48.

Pushpay Holdings shares rallied 3.5 percent after the mobile donations firm confirmed it had received a revised, indicative, and non-binding buyout proposal.

U.S. stocks tumbled on Friday and yields climbed, as rising oil prices coupled with signs of a strong labor market showing a falling unemployment rate bolstered the case for further rate hikes. Investors also weighed a profit warning from microchip maker AMD.

U.S. non-farm payroll employment jumped by 263,000 jobs in September, while economists had expected an increase of 250,000 jobs.

The Dow lost 2.1 percent, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite shed 3.8 percent and the S&P 500 gave up 2.8 percent.

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