Investing.com - Asian shares mostly fell on Friday with sentiment hit by an overnight drop in the U.S. as expected tax cuts are now uncertain on timing and scope.
Japan's Nikkei 225 dropped 1.11%, while the S&P/ASX 200 dipped 0.36%. President Donald Trump is due to speak in Vietnam at an APEC summit that could also see a sideline meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Toshiba shares fell 4.47%, underperforming other Japanese tech stocks after the company reported earnings on Thursday. The company attributed its 76 percent on-year increase in second-quarter operating income to increased sales in its memory business unit, which is due to be sold.
In Greater China, the Shanghai Composite fell 0.05% and the Hang seng index edged up 0.01%. Chinese search engine Sogou made its debut on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday. Tencent-backed Sogou saw its shares rise by more than 10% during the session before closing up 3.85% on its first day of trade.
Overnight, risk off sentiment gripped Wall Street on Thursday, sending US stocks tumbling amid concerns that the Senate would delay corporate tax cuts until 2019.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed higher at 23,462. The S&P 500 closed 0.38% lower while the Nasdaq Composite closed at 6750.05, down 0.58%.
Senate Republicans on Thursday plan to propose delaying a cut in the corporate tax rate from 25% to 20% until 2019, The Washington Post reported on Thursday, citing four people brief on the planning.
On the economic data front, investors digested initial jobless claims that fell short of expectations, adding to the negative sentiment on equities.
The U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday that initial jobless claims increased 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 239,000 for the week ended Nov. 4, above forecasts of a 2,000 increase to 232,000.
Financials, mostly banks, continued to weigh on the broader market falling more than 0.5% amid fears over a flattening yield, which usually signals that investors are concerned about the strength of long-term economic growth and inflation.
The slump in U.S. equities follows a global rout which began overnight as the Nikkei reversed a 2% gains to end the day below break even.