Asian shares fall after Apple’s price hikes
Asian shares retreated from record highs after Apple’s steep price increases showed the downside of the chip demand boom, while only the threat of Japanese intervention prevented the yen from hitting 40-year lows.
Brent crude oil futures fell 0.5 percent to $74.89 a barrel after rising 2 percent from four-month lows overnight following reports that a ship was attacked while exiting the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran has warned ships not to use routes it has not approved, but the passage of stranded oil tankers through the main waterway with the help of military escorts has eased supply concerns.
Nasdaq futures fell 0.6 percent in Asia. The Nasdaq fell overnight after losing 6.1 percent after Apple announced price increases for iPads and MacBooks to cover rising memory and storage chip costs, wiping about $250 billion from its market value. Microsoft is increasing the prices of Xbox game consoles by up to $150 worldwide.
That dampened investor excitement about a big earnings report this week from chip maker Micron, whose shares rose nearly 16 percent overnight to a record high.
“Micron tells us where the profits are. Apple tells us where the inflation is,” said Nigel Green, chief executive of financial advisory firm deVere Group.
“The race to build AI infrastructure has become so intense that demand for advanced memory is outstripping supply,” he said. “Apple’s decision to raise prices is an early warning that inflation is finding a new route into the economy.”
Analysts also say month-end and quarter-end rebalancing flows may have contributed to weakness and volatile prices at major tech companies that outperformed through much of the second quarter.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 1.7 percent on Friday, bringing its weekly loss to a record 3.4 percent on Monday. It was down 1.6 percent this month but was up a whopping 24 percent in the quarter.
Japan’s Nikkei index fell 3 percent, heading for a weekly decline of 1.3 percent. It increased by 6 percent in the month and 38 percent in the quarter.
South Korea’s KOSPI index fell 3.5 percent and 5 percent during the week. There was a terrible increase of 70 percent in the second quarter.
Chinese blue chips fell 1 percent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index lost 1.3 percent.
On foreign exchange markets, the yen was close to its weakest level against the dollar in 40 years at 161.82, well above the 160 level that many see as a clear cut line for Japanese officials.
Although inflation data in the US met forecasts and investors reduced their bets that the Fed would raise interest rates in September, this did not provide much relief.
Separate data also showed that the U.S. economy grew faster than previously expected in the first quarter thanks to a downward revision in imports, but consumer spending nearly stalled, casting doubt on growth momentum in the second quarter.
The dollar index, which measures the dollar’s strength against six major currencies, remained at 101.46, not far from its strongest level since May 2025. It increased by 2.6 percent this month.
Treasury yields were steady on Friday after falling slightly overnight. Two-year yields fell 2 basis points on Thursday to remain at 4.1250 percent, while ten-year yields were little changed at 4.4020 percent, having hit a nearly two-month low of 4.3627 percent in the previous session.
Precious metals have had a rough month; Spot gold fell by 11 percent to $4,020 per ounce, and spot silver dropped by 24 percent to $57.3 per ounce.
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