Asian shares fell on Friday after losses in major U.S. technology stocks pulled Wall Street benchmarks down overnight. U.S. futures edged higher, while oil prices advanced.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped more than 2% early in the session before recovering slightly to close 1.6% lower at 50,064.38, News.Az reports, citing AP.
In China, exports fell 1.1% year-on-year in October, with shipments to the United States plunging 25%, according to official data. Economists, however, expect Chinese exports to rebound following last week’s agreement between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping to ease trade tensions.
Elsewhere, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng declined 0.9% to 26,247.36, while the Shanghai Composite was nearly flat at 4,007.45. South Korea’s Kospi shed 2.2% to 3,937.22, Taiwan’s Taiex lost 0.7%, and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.8% to 8,761.10.
Technology shares have been driving global markets all week. On Thursday, the S&P 500 dropped 1.1% to 6,720.32, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.8% to 46,912.30, and the Nasdaq Composite tumbled 1.9% to 23,053.99.
Major decliners included Nvidia (-3.7%), Microsoft (-2%), and Amazon (-2.9%), whose large market capitalizations give them significant sway over market movements.
Tesla shares were volatile after CEO Elon Musk won a shareholder vote approving a potential $1 trillion stock compensation plan tied to long-term performance targets. The stock dipped initially but rebounded in after-hours trading, ending at $445.91.
Earnings updates continued to shape investor sentiment. DoorDash plunged 17.5% after warning it would boost spending on product development next year, while CarMax tumbled 24.3% after a disappointing financial update and news that CEO Bill Nash will step down in December.
In contrast, Datadog surged 23.1% on stronger-than-expected earnings, and Rockwell Automation rose 2.7% after also beating forecasts.