Asia markets largely fell after Wall Street logs worst week for the year

Asia-Pacific markets mostly fell on Monday after stocks on Wall Street marked their worst week for 2023 on Friday. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 closed 1.12% lower at 7,224.8. In South Korea, the Kospi finished 0.87% down at 2,402.64, and the Kosdaq rose 0.18% to end the day at 780.3. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 fell 0.11% to close at 27,423.96 and the Topix rose 0.22% to finish at 1992.78 as the Bank of Japan governor nominee Kazuo Ueda spoke to the country’s upper house on Monday. In mainland China, the Shenzhen Component dipped 0.73% to end the day at 11,701.94, and the Shanghai Composite fell 0.28% to close at 3,258.03. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index shed 0.17% in its final hour of trade, and the Hang Seng Tech index saw a similar loss at 0.19% down. Stocks on Wall Street ended the week on Friday with sharp declines as the U.S. Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge showed a stronger-than-expected increase in prices last month. The S&P 500 was down 2.7%, marking its worst week since Dec. 9. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell almost 3.0% this week — its fourth straight losing week. The Nasdaq Composite closed 3.3% lower, notching its second negative week in three.