WALL STREET TECH STOCKS STUCK; CAUSE ASIAN SHARES TO STUMBLE

A decline in technology stocks on Wall Street dragged already slipping Asian shares lower, Friday, June 4, 2021, Yuri Kageyama reported for Associated Press (AP).

Benchmarks fell in Japan, South Korea and China but rose in Australia. Traders are awaiting the US government’s latest monthly jobs report, expected later Friday.

Unemployment data announced Thursday were encouraging. But while an improved jobs market suggests the economy is gaining momentum after the pandemic, investors are keeping a close eye on signs of inflation, which especially hurts the tech sector.

The benchmark S&P 500 index dropped 0.4% on Thursday and is on track for a 0.3% weekly loss.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 slipped 0.5% to 28,902.90. South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.6% to 3,229.34, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 inched up 0.1% to 7,268.20.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.1% to 28,945.85 and the Shanghai Composite lost 0.1% at 3,580.58.

The S&P 500 fell 15.27 points to 4,192.85. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.1% to 34,577.04. The tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 1% to 13,614.51. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies gave up 0.8% to 2,279.25.

“Asian markets will likely be in a holding pattern on Friday,” Prakash Sakpal and Nicholas Mapa, senior economists at ING, said in a report. “More importantly, investors will await the US non-farm payrolls report out later tonight.”

On Thursday, technology companies, whose pricey valuations make them more sensitive to inflation fears, were the biggest weight on the market.

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