Investors Pull Out of Tech Stocks, Asian Markets Open Mixed

Asian stock markets opened with mixed results on Friday (4/7/2026), as investors continued a rotation out of technology stocks. The sentiment followed a decline in the technology and semiconductor sectors on Wall Street in the previous session.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index opened down 0.86%. Meanwhile, the Topix index rose 0.34% at the start of trading.

South Korean markets were mixed, with the Kospi index rising 0.97%. On the other hand, the small-cap Kosdaq index fell 1.12%.

The Australian stock market also moved positively at the open. The S&P/ASX 200 index was recorded up 0.42%.

Meanwhile, futures contracts for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index were at the 23,061 level. This figure was slightly higher than the previous closing position of 23,055.03.

The movements in Asian markets came after US stock markets closed mixed on Thursday local time. The Dow Jones index hit a new record closing high after a weaker-than-expected June employment report raised hopes for an interest rate cut by the US central bank, the Federal Reserve.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 594.83 points, or 1.14%, to a record level of 52,900.07. The index even touched a new intraday record high of 52,903.85.

Meanwhile, the S&P 500 index was nearly stagnant, rising less than one point to close at 7,483.24. The Nasdaq index, however, fell 0.8% to 25,832.67.

The heaviest pressure came from the semiconductor sector, which weakened for the second consecutive day. This condition weighed on the performance of the Nasdaq and S&P 500, which have large exposure to technology stocks.

The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) plunged 4.5%, led by a 13.6% drop in Teradyne shares and an 11.5% slump in KLA. Nvidia shares also fell 1.4%, while Micron Technology dropped 5.5%.

Market participants are also observing the US Independence Day holiday. The US stock market will be closed on Friday, so global trading activity is expected to be quieter than on a normal day.