Stock market today: Asia stocks mixed as Chinese technology stocks slip

[February 19, 2025]  By ZEN SOO

HONG KONG (AP) — Asia stocks were mixed Wednesday, as Chinese technology stocks faltered after a short-term rally.

The Hang Seng Index fell 0.14% to 22,944.24, while the Shanghai Composite was up 0.81% to 3,351.54. Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.27% to 39,164.61, following U.S. President Donald Trump's threat to impose a 25% tariff on car imports that if implemented would adversely impact Japan’s economy.

Meanwhile, South Korea’s KOSPI gained 1.7% to 2,671.52. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.73% to 8,419.20.

Early European trading was also mixed, with France’s CAC 40 down 0.20%, while Germany’s DAX remained mostly unchanged. Britain’s FTSE 100 was down 0.21%.

China’s technology stocks slumped Wednesday after a brief bull run earlier in the week. Alibaba’s Hong Kong-traded stock fell 1.74%, while search engine giant Baidu fell 2.05% after it reported a 2% drop in revenue for its fourth quarter compared to a year earlier as artificial intelligence rivalry heats up in China.

Chinese video games firm Tencent saw its stock slip 1.13% while online services firm Meituan declined 3.01%.

“Hong Kong and mainland China led the sell-off, deflating some of the air from the risk-on balloon that had been floating Asia’s market rebound,” said Stephen Innes, managing partner of SPI Asset Management.

“Japanese stocks followed suit, with automakers Toyota and Honda taking a hit after Trump lobbed fresh threats — this time targeting autos, semiconductors, and pharmaceuticals with potential 25% tariffs,” he added.

Currency traders watch monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

The decline in Chinese technology stocks came even as U.S. stocks crept to a record as the S&P 500 nudged higher on Tuesday.

The main measure of Wall Street’s health rose 0.2% to finish just above its all-time closing high set last month.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 10 points, or less than 0.1%, while the Nasdaq composite rose 0.1%.

In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude added 70 cents to $72.53 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 60 cents to $76.44 a barrel.

In currency trading, the U.S. dollar weakened to 151.76 Japanese yen from 152.01 yen. The euro cost $1.0426, down from $1.0446.

“The euro continues to follow sentiment on the implications of Russia-U.S. talks, and we are starting to observe some signs of relative underperformance of European currencies that we suspect will be exacerbated by Trump’s more transactional approach to European NATO allies,” said Francesco Pesole, FX strategist at ING Economics.

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AP Business Writer Stan Choe in New York contributed to this report.

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