Asian Stocks Drop After Wall Street’s Tech Rally Stumbles

SINGAPORE/NEW YORK: Asia’s stock markets slipped on Friday, following the steepest Wall Street selloff since June, while safer bonds and the dollar found support as investors sought shelter. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.6%. Japan’s Nikkei dropped 1.3% while markets in Sydney and Seoul fell 2%.

The moves are more muted than the 5% plunge on the tech-heavy Nasdaq overnight, or the S&P 500’s 3.5% drop, which traders said was overdue given recent frothy gains. But investors are worried the fall might turn into a deeper rout, with a crucial U.S. payrolls report due later on Friday seen as possible selling trigger if it disappoints. After-hours trade in U.S. tech companies pointed to further pressure and futures dropped, with S&P 500 futures down 0.4% early in Asia and Nasdaq 100 futures down 1.2%.