Asian Stocks Edge Lower as Momentum Trades Unwind: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) — Asian stocks declined and gold stumbled, as a week that began with record highs succumbed to worries about corporate earnings and trade tensions.

MSCI’s Asian equities gauge, which had joined gold in setting an all-time high on Monday, retreated around 0.6%. That reflected drops in most big Asian stock markets, with the region’s investors largely echoing a nervous tone set in the US session. Gold was down around 0.4%.

The jitters come from a mix of broad macro fears and worries closer to home. The Trump administration said it’s considering curbs on software exports to China, risking another escalation of the trade spat. But the biggest drop was company-specific: Shares of Pop Mart International Group Ltd. — which have more than doubled this year — plunged nearly 11% on Thursday amid concerns about the toy maker’s long-term sales outlook.

“Previously leading momentum trades across multiple asset classes are now retreating,” said Dilin Wu, a strategist at Pepperstone Group Ltd. “The bigger risk comes from earnings. Strong results could stabilize sentiment, but any disappointments — especially from growth or tech stocks — could intensify the current retracement.”

In the US, assets favored by retail momentum traders had taken the worst losses, among them precious metals, crypto and artificial intelligence stocks. The Nasdaq 100 lost 1% after a disappointing outlook from Texas Instruments Inc. and a 10% slump in Netflix Inc. In late hours, Tesla Inc. slid as earnings missed estimates despite a sales surge. US equity futures edged higher in Asia on Thursday.

Gold continued to edge toward $4,000 an ounce, falling for the third consecutive day. Oil jumped around 3% after the US announced sanctions on Russia’s biggest producers in its latest bid to pressure President Vladimir Putin to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine.

The yen was weaker against the dollar for a fifth session. The yield on 10-year Treasuries was steady after falling one basis point to 3.95% on Wednesday. A $13 billion sale of 20-year bonds was strong. The dollar index climbed 0.1%.

Chinese officials conclude their Fourth Plenum gathering in Beijing, with a readout expected later in the day. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is expected to huddle with his Chinese counterparts over the weekend ahead of the Trump-Xi talks.

The markets are jittery about the US-China tension, and “though it could probably be just another TACO situation, and even though everyone knows that’s how it goes, there are still people who have to react until things settle down,” said Ryuta Otsuka, a strategist at Toyo Securities.

In Japan, newly appointed Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi ordered a fresh round of economic measures to help households and businesses cope with persistent inflation. Shares of Disco Corp. and Tokyo Electron Ltd. fell more than 3%, making them among the worst losers in the Nikkei 225 index.

Elsewhere in the region, the Bank of Korea held its benchmark interest rate steady to avoid spurring a housing market rally.

How often do you look at prediction markets to inform your trading decisions? Let us know in the latest Markets Pulse survey.

Some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

S&P 500 futures rose 0.1% as of 1:29 p.m. Tokyo time Nikkei 225 futures (OSE) fell 1.3% at 12:13 p.m. New York time, the most since Oct. 17, 2025 Japan’s Topix fell 0.5%, more than any closing loss since Oct. 17, 2025 Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.1% Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was little changed The Shanghai Composite fell 0.7%, more than any closing loss since Oct. 17, 2025 Euro Stoxx 50 futures were little changed Currencies

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.1% to the highest since Oct. 14, 2025 The euro fell 0.1% to $1.1595 The Japanese yen weakened 0.3%,falling for the fifth straight day, the longest losing streak since Oct. 9, 2025 The offshore yuan was little changed at 7.1273 per dollar Cryptocurrencies

Bitcoin rose 0.8% to $108,601.36 Ether rose 1.4% to $3,833.30 Bonds

The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 3.95% Australia’s 10-year yield was little changed at 4.12% Commodities

West Texas Intermediate crude rose 3.2% to $60.39 a barrel Spot gold fell 0.3% to $4,084.71 an ounce This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.

–With assistance from Richard Henderson and Aya Wagatsuma.

©2025 Bloomberg L.P.