Asian shares mostly decline after AI stocks lead a rebound on Wall Street
A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026, in Tokyo. Credit: AP/Eugene Hoshiko
TOKYO — Asian shares were mostly lower in cautious trading Tuesday after artificial-intelligence -related stocks bounced back on Wall Street while other sectors continued to be shaky and oil prices stayed high.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 declined 1.3% to finish 64,075.42. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.3% to 8,816.90. South Korea's Kospi dropped 4% to 5,539.05. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 1.1% to 23,927.47, while the Shanghai Composite slipped 0.1% to 3,726.38.
Analysts say investors are also waiting for the upcoming slew of earnings reports from various major companies.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose 0.4%, coming off its worst week since June, and the Nasdaq composite rallied 1.1%. The majority of U.S. stocks outside of AI and tech fell, though, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished with a 0.1% drop.
Nvidia added 1.4% Monday and was one of the strongest forces lifting the S&P 500. Because it’s the largest stock on Wall Street by total market value, a 1% move for its stock has more effect on the index than any other’s.
SpaceX, which controls the xAI business, rose 1.3%. Its founder, Elon Musk, has pledged to give one share of SpaceX to “every kid in America” next year.
All told, the S&P 500 rose 31.29 points to 7,690.73. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 36.38 to 51,966.03, and the Nasdaq composite rallied 290.85 to 26,430.89.
A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026, in Tokyo. Credit: AP/Eugene Hoshiko
Much of the spending on AI chips and data centers has been funded with borrowed money, and Treasury yields in the bond market recently hit their highest levels in years. The yield on the 10-year Treasury climbed to 5.14% from 5.09% late Friday.
In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude rose 0.36% to $104.03 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, gained 0.70% to $110.32 a barrel. Uncertainty about when the war with Iran will allow the energy industry to return to normal means oil prices are unlikely to ease any time soon.
In currency trading, the U.S. dollar inched down to 158.11 Japanese yen from 158.46 yen. The euro cost $1.1229, little changed from $1.1227.
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People stand in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026, in Tokyo. Credit: AP/Eugene Hoshiko
AP Business Writer Stan Choe contributed to this report.
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