Investing.com - Asian shares slumped on Friday in reaction to U.S. market woes and timid outlooks for global growth.
The Hang Seng index ended the morning down 0.66% while the Shanghai Composite eased 0.59% and the Nikkei 225 slipped 2.31%.
The Nikkei was led by shares of Fast Retailing Co., Ltd. (9983.TOK), the heaviest-weighted Nikkei component, plunging to a new 2014 low, down at least 8.0% after cutting its full-year financial forecast to reflect weaker demand in its home market.
Overnight, U.S. stocks plunged fueled by a sell-off in the technology and biotechnology sectors, as investors viewed valuations have grown too lofty.
The Dow 30 fell 1.62%, the S&P 500 index fell 2.09%, while the Nasdaq fell 3.10%.
Biotech, Internet and other tech companies, bigt beneficiaries of a five-year bull market fueled in part by loose monetary policies, took a pounding on Thursday on sentiments valuations have grown too high.
Since the 2008 financial crisis, the Federal Reserve has bought trillions of dollars in bonds in an effort to suppress borrowing costs to spur recovery, with stocks being one of the biggest beneficiaries.
After the close of European trade, the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 fell 0.98%, France's CAC 40 fell 0.66%, while Germany's DAX fell 0.54%. Meanwhile, in the U.K. the FTSE 100 rose 0.10%.
On Friday, the U.S. is to round up the week with data on producer price inflation and the preliminary report on the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index.