Asia markets mostly fall as investors assess Nvidia results, Adani charges

Asia-Pacific markets mostly fell Thursday, with investors watching tech shares in the region after chipmaker Nvidia reported better-than-expected results.

Nvidia reported a 94% year-on-year surge in revenue for the third quarter to $35.08 billion. However, that is still a consecutive slowdown from the previous three quarters, when sales rose 122%, 262%, and 265%, respectively.

Net income during the quarter rose to $19.3 billion, versus $9.24 billion in the same period a year ago. 

All eyes are on Indian stocks related to billionaire Gautam Adani, after the chair of India’s Adani Group was indicted with others in New York federal court on charges related to a massive bribery and fraud scheme.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.67%, and the broad-based Topix slipped 0.22%. Semiconductor equipment supplier Advantest was the largest loser on the Nikkei, falling over 3%. The company disclosed it’s relationship with Nvidia in 2023.

South Korea’s Kospi was the only outlier in the region, rising 0.25%, while the small-cap Kosdaq fell 0.46%. Nvidia supplier SK Hynix was trading 0.41% higher, while heavyweight Samsung Electronics gained 0.54%.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 traded close to the flatline.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 0.31%, while mainland China’s CSI300 was down 0.14%.

Overnight in the U.S., the S&P 500 ended Wednesday flat, with Nvidia shares slipping nearly 1% ahead of the company’s highly anticipated earnings report. Investors also assessed disappointing results from Target.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lost 0.11%, while the broad index closed little changed at 5,917.11, The Dow Jones Industrial Average was a bright spot, gaining 0.32%.

— CNBC’s Samantha Subin and Brian Evans contributed to this report.

Correction: An earlier version of this story has been updated to reflect the correct Hang Seng close on Wednesday.