Sharp Asian Market Selloff Hits Korea, Hong Kong and Tokyo

Asian markets were trading sharply lower on the latest session, with South Korea’s Kospi index down 8%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng off 1.9%, and Shanghai’s market falling 2.1%. In Japan, Tokyo’s Nikkei dropped 4.7%.

SoftBank was a major drag in Tokyo, tumbling 13.6% and leading declines in the technology sector. The Japanese investment giant came under pressure after its chip company ARM fell 3.2% on Nasdaq the previous night.

Wall Street had already closed mixed, with the Nasdaq down 0.5% after Apple slid 6.1% and Microsoft lost 3.5%, while the Dow Jones rose 0.1%. This morning, U.S. futures were also weakening, with Nasdaq futures down 1.4% and S&P 500 futures off 0.7%.

Oil continued to fall amid talks between Iran and the United States. WTI crude dropped 2% to $70.5 a barrel, and Brent declined 1.9% to $73.9 a barrel.