Asian stock markets opened lower with notable declines in Japan and South Korea. The Nikkei 225 index fell by 0.51%, while the KOSPI index in South Korea dropped 0.4% to 2,481.25 points.
In Japan, Renesas Electronics saw its stock price decrease by 2.8% amid reports of planned layoffs affecting several hundred employees. The broader TOPIX index also declined by 0.4% to 2,775.94 points. Sony Group (SONY) contributed significantly to the index's decline, with its stock falling by 1.7%.
Japan Display Inc. experienced the largest drop among individual stocks, plummeting by 5.0%.
