Asian shares mostly decline on global technology downturn

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares mostly declined Tuesday amid a global fall in technology shares, including Japan's SoftBank, which has reported hefty losses caused by the market downturn.

Such worries are coming on top of concerns about inflation and what central banks might do to curb that trend. Higher interest rates tend to work as a minus for share prices.

Shares fell in Tokyo and Hong Kong but rose in other regional markets. U.S. futures edged higher. Oil prices fell.

Japan's technology investor SoftBank Group Corp. dropped more than 4% in Tokyo trading. On Monday it reported a record quarterly loss of $23 billion. A global nose-dive of technology-related issues, such as Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, dragged on its sprawling portfolio of investments.

Analysts monitoring Asian markets said regional tensions also remain a risk, because of the flareup between China and Taiwan after the recent visit of U.S. House Speak Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan.

China has said it's extending threatening military exercises surrounding Taiwan, disrupting shipping and air traffic and raising up a notch worries about trade.

“It is worth keeping track of the geopolitical landscape as any major developments on the China/Taiwan front could impact overall risk demand. China confirmed it would extend military drills around Taiwan, and the military will conduct ‘regular’ exercises on the eastern side of the median line of the Taiwan Strait,” said Anderson Alves at ActivTrades.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 dipped 0.9% in afternoon trading to 27,999.96. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.1% to 7,029.80. South Korea's Kospi edged 0.5% higher to 2,504.60. Hong Kong's Hang Seng erased earlier gains and fell nearly 0.1% to 20,029.60, while the Shanghai Composite edged up 0.3% to 3,245.92.

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