"Asian Stocks" Asia-Pacific stock markets generally fell, with Japanese and South Korean stock markets each dropping over 1%, semiconductor stocks softened

The Asia-Pacific stock markets generally fell, influenced by the decline in US stocks last Friday (12th). This week, several central banks around the world are holding meetings, and the market is also watching for the US's non-farm payroll and inflation data from last month.

The three key economic indicators from mainland China all fell short of expectations, with the year-on-year decline in commodity residential sales prices in 70 large and medium-sized cities widening last month. The People's Bank of China conducted a net injection of 8.6 billion yuan through a seven-day reverse repurchase operation. The Shanghai Composite Index closed at 3,884 points, down 4 points or 0.1%; the Shenzhen Component Index fell 94 points or 0.7%, closing at 13,164 points. The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong dropped 240 points or 0.9%, closing at 25,736 points, with a turnover of 108.2 billion yuan. The Taiwan Weighted Index fell 277 points or 1%, closing at 27,920 points. Taiwan Semiconductor and Hon Hai fell 1.7% and 2.4%, while MediaTek rose 1.4%.

The Japanese Nikkei Average fell 803 points or 1.6%, closing at 50,033 points. SoftBank and Kioxia fell 6.9% and 6.5%, respectively, while Advantest dropped 6.4%. South Korea's Kospi Index fell 59 points or 1.4%, closing at 4,107 points. Chip stocks Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix fell 3.5% and 3%, respectively, while Hyundai Motor and Hyundai Heavy Industries fell 2.4% and 3.8%. India's Nifty 50 Index fell 90 points or 0.4%, closing at 25,956 points. Indian Oil and Natural Gas fell 2.4%, and automotive stock Mahindra fell 1.2%.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 72 points or 0.8%, closing at 8,624 points. Mining stocks BHP and Rio Tinto fell 3% and 2.5%, respectively, while gold mining stock Newmont fell 1.2%. The New Zealand Stock Exchange 50 Index rose 1 point to 13,408 points.

The Singapore Straits Times Index fell 12 points or 0.3%, closing at 4,573 points. Malaysia and Thailand rose 0.1% and 0.2%, respectively, with the Thai baht rising to a four-year high ahead of the central bank meeting. Indonesia and the Philippines stock markets rose 0.5% and 0.8%. The stock markets in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, each rose 0.1%