Asian Shares Decline Amid Profit Booking

Market Overview - Asian stocks experienced broad declines as investors took profits amid warnings of stretched valuations from the IMF and BOE, raising concerns of a potential market collapse similar to the dotcom bubble [1][2] - The benchmark Shanghai Composite index fell 0.94% to 3,897.03, influenced by China's restrictions on rare earth exports and U.S. proposals to ban Chinese airlines from certain routes [2] - Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dropped 1.73% to 26,290.32, while Japanese markets faced sharp declines due to concerns over a potential bubble in AI-linked tech [2][3] Japanese Market Dynamics - The Nikkei average decreased by 1.01% to 48,088.80, with the broader Topix index down 1.85% at 3,197.59 [3] - Notable stock movements included SoftBank Group losing 3.1% and Tokyo Electron dropping 1.4%, while Fast Retailing surged 6.7% after reporting record profits [3] - Japanese wholesale prices rose 2.7% year-on-year as households expect continued price increases [4] South Korean Market Performance - The Kospi index in Seoul jumped 1.73% to 3,610.60, reaching a record high as traders returned from a holiday [4] - Samsung Electronics saw a 6.1% increase in shares following reports of revived partnerships with U.S. chipmakers Qualcomm and Intel, while SK Hynix shares soared 8.2% [5] Australian and New Zealand Markets - Australian markets ended slightly lower, with the S&P/ASX 200 dipping 0.13% to 8,958.30, affected by underperformance in mining and gold stocks [6] - New Zealand's S&P/NZX-50 index fell 0.76% to 13,467.26, primarily due to losses in healthcare stocks [6] Commodity and Currency Trends - The dollar remained near two-month highs amid political and economic crises in France and ongoing U.S. government shutdown [7] - Gold faced selling pressure for the second consecutive day, while oil prices extended losses after a 1.6% drop in the previous session [7] U.S. Market Sentiment - U.S. stocks ended slightly lower after a week of record gains, with caution emerging as the IMF and JPMorgan Chase warned of potential market corrections [8] - The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite finished marginally lower, while the S&P 500 and Dow also saw slight declines [10]