HK Down Again, Apple's Fall Continue To Scare Asia

Hong Kong stocks suffered fresh losses on Monday, dragged down by another sell-off in technology firms as their US counterparts were hit by fears about the smartphone sector.

The Hang Seng Index fell 0.5 percent, to 30,254.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.1 percent, to 3,068 and the Shenzhen Composite Index fell 0.8 percent, to 1,764.

Asian investors were again spooked by the plunge in Apple shares in New York as most markets fell.

The US giant fell more than four percent on Friday, the day after an almost 3 percent drop that was fuelled by top smartphone chip supplier Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) forecasting a plunge in sales.

The losses filtered through to Apple's Asian suppliers and other tech firms. AAC Technologies dived 1.9 percent in Hong Kong, TSMC shed 1.1 percent in Taipei and Alps Electric was 2.3 percent off in Tokyo, where Sharp lost 5.6 percent.

Japan's Nikkei ended 0.3 percent lower while Seoul eased 0.1 percent, Wellington lost 0.2 percent and Taipei was 0.8 percent lower.

Singapore dipped 0.1 percent but Sydney added 0.3 percent.

In currency trade, the pound continues to sag against the US dollar after Bank of England head Mark Carney seemed to pour cold water on the prospects of a rate hike next month, disappointing traders who had bet on higher borrowing costs.

The dollar edged up against the safe haven yen on hopes the China-US trade spat can be resolved after US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he was "cautiously optimistic" of finding agreement. (AFP)