Asian Markets Decline as LG Reports Weak Profits and Rakuten Faces Cyberattack

Asian stock markets traded lower on Tuesday, reversing course despite a positive close on Wall Street where the Nasdaq and S&P 500 reached record highs, with the S&P 500 closing above 7,800 points for the first time.

Asian Markets Retreat as LG Misses Expectations

The Nikkei 225 dropped 0.9%, the Hang Seng fell 0.7%, and the Kospi declined 0.8%, while mainland Chinese markets remained closed for a national holiday. Meanwhile, oil prices advanced following Houthi attacks on facilities in Saudi Arabia, raising supply concerns. Brent crude rose 0.9% to $101.5 a barrel, and WTI crude gained 0.9% to $90.2 a barrel.

LG Electronics shares plummeted 8% at the bottom of the Kospi index after releasing disappointing preliminary third-quarter financial results. Operating profit came in at 781.8 billion won ($584 million), marking a 13.5% increase year-on-year.

Operating profit missed analyst expectations by 24%, as consensus estimates stood at 1.028 trillion won ($768 million). Quarterly revenue grew 8.9% to 23.83 trillion won ($17.8 billion), falling slightly short of forecasts.

Cyberattack Hits Rakuten and Tech Stocks Decline

Japanese tech and AI-related shares also faced downward pressure, dragging down the Nikkei index. Kioxia lost 4%, Tokyo Electron fell 2.8%, Dainippon Screen retreated 3%, and Advantest declined 1.7%.

E-commerce and fintech giant Rakuten tumbled 4% in Tokyo after reporting a cyberattack on its cloud storage platform, Rakuten Drive. Unauthorized actors accessed photos and documents across approximately 15,400 accounts, with encrypted passwords and user details exposed in some instances.

Bucking the trend, electronic component manufacturer Taiyo Yuden surged 4.6% following a 6.2% jump the previous session, driven by short-covering as investors moved to cut losses.