Asian shares fall as chipmakers drag; US jobs data looms

SYDNEY: Asian shares skidded on Thursday as investors rotated out of chipmakers following a stellar quarter, while currency and ​bond markets braced for US jobs data that could gives hints about the risk of interest rate hikes.

Oil prices hit ‌new four-month lows, with Brent crude off 0.8% to $71 a barrel, as U.S. President Donald Trump said talks with Iran had gone well in Qatar, and as more oil tankers transited through the Strait of Hormuz.

On Thursday, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.8%, while Japan’s Nikkei also dropped 1.1%, adding to losses ​from the first day of the quarter.

South Korea’s KOSPI sank 2.7%, extending a 2% slide from Wednesday.

That followed an eye-watering 68% ​surge in the second quarter on soaring AI-related demand for memory chips.

SK Hynix plunged 7.7% and Samsung tumbled ⁠6.2%. That followed a report that Meta Platforms is building a cloud business to sell excess AI computing capacity, which sent the Facebook owner’s ​shares up 8.8% overnight.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng bucked the trend in Asia with a gain of 1.8%.

Foreign investors sold Asian equities at the fastest pace ​in at least 16 years in the first half of 2026, as the blistering AI-driven rally forced them to trim their biggest winners in South Korea and Taiwan and hunt for lower-priced laggards.

Investor attention is on US non-farm payrolls data due on Thursday this month due to a holiday on Friday for Independence Day, which ​falls on a Sunday this year.

Economists polled by Reuters expect a rise of 110,000 jobs for June, but forecasts range widely from gains of ​25,000 to 200,000, suggesting the chance for a surprise is high. The jobless rate is forecast to stay steady at 4.3%.

“For the equity traders, there is ‌probably no ⁠single rigid playbook to work from. Ideally, equity players want a Goldilocks outcome: respectable job creation, a stable unemployment rate,” said Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone.

“Anything that avoids a marked increase in the implied probability of near-term rate hikes is likely to be welcomed by equity bulls.”

At the Sintra Forum, Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh said inflation risks had eased recently, offering only short-lived relief to Treasuries. Warsh also said he will ​stick firmly to the 2% inflation ​target and “disappoint” anyone who expects loose ⁠monetary policy. Markets currently price in about 80% odds of a rate hike in September.

Treasury yields have been climbing as traders braced for a potentially strong jobs number, which could see bets of a near-term rate ​hike ramp up..

US 2-year yields rose 1 basis point (bp) on Thursday to 4.1785%, and were up 9 ​bps this week ⁠so far. 10-year yields held at 4.4811% after climbing 10 bps this week.

Higher Treasury yields kept the U.S. dollar supported.

The euro dipped 0.4% overnight against the greenback after European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said inflation and growth risks were now becoming more broadly balanced. The euro was steady in Asian ⁠hours on ​Thursday at $1.1379.

The yen was little changed at 162.59 per dollar, having hit a fresh 40-year ​low of 162.84 on Wednesday.

The slide has drawn the usual warnings of intervention from Tokyo. At the same time, the impact of interventions in April and May proved short-lived, ​despite Japanese authorities spending almost 12 trillion yen.

Gold bounced 0.5% to $4,050 an ounce following a very tough quarter.