Korea Leads Asia Losses

Asia-Pacific market fell across the board Tuesday, tracking Wall Street declines as investors continued to rotate out of the artificial intelligence trade in the U.S.

The Nikkei 225 tumbled 784.82 points, or 1.6%, to 49,383.29.

Japan’s flash composite PMI indicated a softer expansion in December, coming in at 51.5 compared to the previous month’s 52.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng lost 393.47 points, or 1.5%, to 25,235.41.

South Korea’s Kospi lost 2.24%, leading losses in Asia and closing at 3,999.13, while the small-cap Kosdaq fell 2.42% to 916.11. This is the first time in nearly two weeks that the Kospi had fallen below the 4,000 mark.

Shares of Korea Zinc plunged almost 14% after the company reportedly agreed to sell $1.9 billion of shares to a joint venture controlled by the U.S. government and unnamed U.S.-based strategic investors, according to Reuters.

Medical treatment company ADEL signed a drug development deal with French pharma giant Sanofi worth up to $1.04 billion, according to the South Korean-based company late Monday.

Flash purchasing managers index numbers from S&P Global showed that business activity expanded at a slower pace in Australia in December, with the composite PMI falling to 51.1 from November’s 52.6.

In other markets

The CSI 300 in Shanghai fell 54.51 points, or 1.2%, to 4,497.56.

In Korea, the Kospi fell 91.46 points, or 2.2%, to 3,999.13

In Singapore, the Straits Times Index reversed 9.44 points, or 0.2%, to 4,569.73.

In Taiwan, the Taiex stumbled 330.28 points, or 1.2%, to 27,536.66.

In New Zealand, the NZX 50 edged up 16.82 points, or 0.1%, to 13,424.95.

In Australia, the ASX 200 slid 36.09 points, or 0.4%, to 8,598.95.