Amid a broad selloff across Asia and a pullback in U.S. futures, investors brace for fresh U.S. jobs and inflation data that could steer the path of interest rates.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 slipped 1.6% to 49,383.29 as preliminary factory numbers signaled a modest slowdown in manufacturing. The S&P Global Flash PMI rose to 49.7 in November from 48.7, still signaling contraction (any reading below 50 indicates shrinking activity).
market participants are keenly watching Japanese data ahead of Friday’s Bank of Japan policy meeting, which is widely anticipated to deliver a rate increase that could ripple through global bond, currency, and crypto markets.
Mainland China saw further retreat after November data undershot expectations. Retail sales rose just 1.3% year over year—the weakest pace since the height of the pandemic—while lending and investment cooled.
“Taken together, the numbers point to momentum fading into year-end, aligning with our view that growth will settle around roughly 4% in the fourth quarter,” said Tan Boon Heng of Mizuho Bank.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng fell 1.6% to 25,211.24, and the Shanghai Composite slipped 1.1% to 3,825.71.
South Korea’s Kospi lost 2.2% to 3,000.13 as tech shares declined, with SK Hynix down about 4.3% and Samsung Electronics down around 1.9%.
Taiwan’s Taiex declined 1.1% as well, while Australia’s ASX 200 dipped 0.4% to 8,598.90.
After-hours trading pressured iRobot, the Roomba maker, with shares down 9.3% following news that the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. This comes on the heels of a roughly 73% drop on Monday, as competition intensifies. iRobot emphasized that device supply disruptions are not anticipated as it moves into private equity–led restructuring.
On Monday, U.S. indices were mixed: the S&P 500 slipped 0.2% despite a majority of components rising, the Dow fell 0.1%, and the Nasdaq declined 0.6%.
In market-creator AI stocks, the mood remained unsettled. Nvidia ticked up 0.7, underscoring the AI megatrend, while Oracle tumbled about 2.7% after a sharp 12.7% drop the prior session. Broadcom shed about 5.6% as enthusiasm for AI-related investments wavered.
The AI rally has faced renewed questions about whether the vast sums flowing into chips and data centers will translate into lasting, outsized returns.
The week’s central focus for U.S. markets is a flood of economic updates. Economists expect November’s jobs report to show roughly 40,000 more hires than layoffs, while Thursday’s inflation update is expected to reveal a 12-month consumer price increase around 3.1% for November.
Investors hope the labor market cools just enough to enable the Federal Reserve to ease policy—yet not so much that growth stalls. Lower rates can lift markets and borrowing, but they can also rekindle inflation.
Projections for Tuesday’s jobs report put the unemployment rate at about 4.4%, a level near its highest since 2021.
Elsewhere in commodities, U.S. crude slipped 37 cents to $56.45 per barrel, while Brent crude traded down 35 cents at $60.21.
And that’s the landscape as traders balance risk signals from jobs, prices, and policy expectations, hoping to navigate the next wave of market-moving data.
