ASIA MARKET OPEN | Tokyo and Seoul Slide at Open as Oil Surge, US Rate Fears Hit Asia

According to Kabutan/Minkabu, HKET and RTHK, Asian equities opened broadly lower on Friday after Brent crude vaulted past $100 a barrel, US Treasury yields climbed and Wall Street fell for a fourth session, stoking fears the Federal Reserve may have to raise rates. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 opened down 994.13 points, or about 1.5%, at 64,276.82, with the TOPIX slipping below 4,000 to 3,998.58 at the open. Selling accelerated after the open; by 01:40 UTC the Nikkei was at 63,449.44, down 2.79%. Chip-related names led the retreat, with Advantest down 7.13% and Tokyo Electron off 4.45% as of 01:40 UTC, while Sony eased 0.22%. Traders cited the overnight US decline, higher oil and yields, and caution ahead of tonight's US CPI and next week's FOMC and Bank of Japan meetings. Seoul's KOSPI opened at 6,802.50, down 231.42 points or 3.29%, and was down more than 2% in early trade. Chipmakers weighed, with Samsung Electronics down 3.90% and SK Hynix off 3.99% as of 01:40 UTC. Hong Kong stocks opened lower, with the Hang Seng Index down 236 points, or 0.95%, at 24,718 and the Hang Seng Tech Index off 1.4% at 4,271. Alibaba and Tencent each fell more than 1% and Zijin Mining dropped nearly 4%, while CNOOC bucked the trend with a gain of more than 1%. The Hang Seng was at 24,599.68, down 1.42%, as of 01:40 UTC. Taiwan's TAIEX also opened lower and stood at 46,131.75, down 1.72% or 808.74 points, as of 01:40 UTC. TSMC fell 1.63%, MediaTek declined 2.01% and Hon Hai eased 1.39% as of 01:40 UTC. In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite and the Shenzhen Component each opened down about 1%, with all four major A-share gauges lower and more than 4,600 stocks declining; non-ferrous metals, agriculture and semiconductor shares led the pullback.