Asian Markets on High Alert as Tech-Driven Sell-Off Spreads to Wall Street

Asian Markets Poised to Fall After Wall Street's Nine-Week Winning Streak Ends

SINGAPORE, June 8 - Asian markets are set to decline on Monday following the end of Wall Street's nine-week winning streak, which was marked by heavy tech selling. The situation is further exacerbated by Israeli strikes on Beirut, which have driven up oil and dollar prices.

Futures and the U.S. exchange-traded fund (ETF) movements on Friday pointed to significant drops in Japan and South Korea. The S&P 500 futures were down 0.2% in early Asia trade. The Nasdaq had declined by 4.2% on Friday, with semiconductor stocks experiencing concentrated selling. This selling was triggered by the release of a hot jobs report, which increased expectations of Federal Reserve interest rate hikes. The AI-led rally, which had been gaining momentum, was subsequently slammed.

The two-year Treasury yields rose by more than 11 basis points on Friday, while the benchmark 10-year Treasury futures were approximately five ticks lower in early Asia trade on Monday morning. The market's focus is now on whether this represents a healthy pause in the nine-week equity rally or a sign of a potential top. The upcoming IPO of SpaceX is expected to play a significant role in this debate. The listing is expected to price on Thursday and trade on Friday.

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The week ahead will also be marked by the release of U.S. consumer price data on Wednesday and central bank meetings in Canada and Europe. Last week, bitcoin experienced its heaviest weekly drop since the collapse of crypto exchange FTX in late 2022, falling by approximately 16%. The cryptocurrency is currently trading just below $63,000.

The Middle East situation remains delicate, with Brent crude futures rising by about 2.6% to $95.45 a barrel on Monday morning following an Israeli attack on Beirut. Iran responded by directing a salvo of missiles at Israeli targets. OPEC agreed to its fourth increase in oil output targets in as many months on Sunday.

In currency trade, the dollar is firm and holding above 160 yen. This has pushed the Australian dollar to $0.7038 and the euro to $1.1518.