South Korea and Taiwan lead declines in Asia markets as tech firms slide after Apple downgrade

Asia-Pacific markets fell Wednesday, with stocks in South Korea and Taiwan leading declines as major tech firms including chipmakers came under pressure after Barclays downgraded Apple.

Apple shares dropped 4% on Tuesday, after Barclays cut the iPhone maker’s rating to underweight and trimmed its price target to $160 from $161. Apple suppliers in major Asia markets fell, weighing down indexes in Taiwan and South Korea.

South Korea’s Kospi dropped 1.78%, while the small-cap Kosdaq fell 1%. Most technology and chip stocks including Samsung Electronics, LG Corporation and SK Hynix fell more than 2%.

The Taiwan Weighted Index shed 1.18%, with shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company down 1.85% and Hon Hai, known internationally as Foxconn, shedding 0.48%.

Investors in Asia await India’s factory activity data from S&P Global for December, while oil prices will also be closely watched following Iran’s deployment of a destroyer to the Red Sea that has ratcheted up tensions in the region.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 retreated 1.1% after hitting an all-time high on Tuesday.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 1.23%, while China’s CSI 300 struggled for direction.

Japan’s markets are closed until Thursday. A Japan Airlines flight collided with a coast guard aircraft at Tokyo’s Haneda airport on Tuesday, causing five deaths.

The Coast Guard aircraft was headed to Niigata prefecture to provide relief for the recent earthquake that hit Japan on New Year’s Day, according to initial reports.

Overnight in the U.S. the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.63% and the S&P500 slid 0.57%.

Apple shares fell more than 3% after Barclays downgraded the Magnificent Seven stock to “underweight.”

The Dow Jones Industrial Average managed to stay afloat as defensive stocks such as Johnson & Johnson and Merck gained.

— CNBC’s Sarah Min and Alex Harring contributed to this report