Asian markets settle lower on Monday

Asian markets settled lower on Monday tracking Wall Street’s fall last Friday after the US President Donald Trump nominated Kevin Warsh to be the next chair of the Federal Reserve, and a reading on US inflation was stronger than expected. Besides, renewed tariff worries from Donald Trump and ongoing heavy selling in metals have also dampened market sentiments. Meanwhile, investors also looked ahead to the release of key US jobs data as well as central bank decisions in Australia, Europe and London for direction. The South Korean Kospi index broke the 5,000 psychological resistance level despite global uncertainty over US monetary policy and concerns about an AI sector bubble. Japan’s Nikkei fell as investors braced for the February 8 snap lower house election and ignored the results of a private-sector survey that showed Japan’s manufacturing activity grew at the fastest pace in about three and a half years in January. Conversely, export-linked shares gained after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said over the weekend that a weak yen could be a major opportunity for export industries. Chinese and Hong Kong shares tumbled as troubled property developer China Vanke warned of a $11.8 billion net loss for 2025 and electric vehicle giant BYD reported a 30.1% year-on-year fall in vehicle sales for January.