Slumps

• The Nasdaq Composite index fell more than 4.5% over the past week, driven by a significant sell-off in high-growth technology stocks. • The market downturn coincided with the release of critical inflation and economic growth data on Thursday, which influenced investor expectations. • These shifts are significant as they impact the outlook for future monetary policy and interest rate decisions by central banks.

• South Korea's Kospi and other major Asian indices slumped, with Taiwan's Taiex closing 3.6% lower and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index losing over 2%. • The downturn was driven by a SoftBank rout and investor concerns regarding memory chip demand following price hikes by Apple. • Specific losses included chip giant TSMC, which closed over 2% lower, and Alibaba, which tanked 6% after accusations from Anthropic regarding the exploitation of AI models.

• Major stock indexes ended mixed on Thursday as Micron Technology's strong quarterly earnings sparked a rally in memory chips, offsetting losses in other mega-cap tech stocks like Apple. • The Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index, the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge, rose 4.1% year-over-year in May. • This surge from April's 3.8% increase marks a three-year high, complicating the Federal Reserve's efforts to maintain price stability and manage interest rates.

• Most Asian equity markets declined on Tuesday, following a slump in US technology stocks and a wave of profit-taking after a strong AI-driven rally. • South Korea's Kospi Index led regional losses with a drop of more than 6%, driven by sharp declines in heavyweight chipmakers. • Other major indices were also affected, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng both falling by over 1%.

• Japan's Nikkei benchmark index surged 2.75% to reach a historic all-time high of 65,081.96, crossing the 65,000 mark for the first time. • The rally occurred amid thin holiday trading across Asia, with the broader Topix index also rising 0.65% while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 remained largely unchanged. • Market sentiment was influenced by slumping oil prices driven by expectations of a potential deal involving Iran.

Firms hit by ‘perfect storm’ of uncertainty about Labour leadership and impact of Iran warBusiness live – latest updatesCompanies in the UK’s dominant services sector have reported one of the sharpest declines in business activity in a decade, according to a closely watched index.Businesses are grappling with a “perfect storm” of domestic political uncertainty around Keir Starmer’s leadership as prime minister and the growing impact of the Iran war, leading to soaring costs, supply shortages and job cuts, the report said. Continue reading...

Homebuyers lose confidence amid higher rates and Iran war-linked price rises across the economy, buyers agent saysFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastSurging numbers of homes are being passed in at auction as higher interest rates weigh on demand and the number of properties for sale hits highs not seen since 2021.The national auction clearance rate last week was just under 57%, the lowest this year, with Sydney’s at 55%, Cotality data shows. The remainder includes both houses that did not sell at auction and houses withdrawn before auction. Continue reading...

• Wall Street indices declined sharply on Wednesday, March 18, with the S&P 500 falling 1.4% to 6,624.70, Dow Jones dropping 1.6% to 46,225.15, and Nasdaq sliding 1.5% to 22,152.42. • The Federal Reserve decided to keep its main interest rate unchanged, opting against resuming cuts to support the job market and economy amid rising inflation pressures. • Fed Chair Jerome Powell stated, “We just don’t know,” regarding the impact of surging oil prices and President Donald Trump’s tariffs on the economy.