Stocks fell at the start of a pivotal week for markets, with the artificial intelligence trade under pressure ahead of key tech earnings and the Federal Reserve’s annual gathering. Treasuries rose as oil fell.
MSCI’s Asia Pacific equities gauge almost 1%, with Samsung Electronics Co. and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. contributing most to its losses. Samsung slid 8.7% in Seoul as investors were underwhelmed by its plans to return as much as 110 trillion won ($80 billion) to shareholders.
Alibaba tumbled 9.8% in Hong Kong after announcing plans to raise HK$80 billion ($10.2 billion) in a share sale. SoftBank Group Corp. shares slipped 4.6% in Tokyo after announcing plans for a record ¥1 trillion ($6.3 billion) retail bond offering.
Futures contracts indicated modest losses for European and Wall Street gauges. Treasuries rose ahead of a fiscal consolidation plan announcement by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
A decline in oil also helped bonds, with Brent falling 1.3% to about $93.15. The US 10-year yield eased two basis points to 4.71%, with yields in Australia and New Zealand also falling.
