Stock market today: Asian stocks plummet, weighed down by Wall Street’s tech decline, Chinese policy questioned

Asian stocks fell on Friday after a broad slump on Wall Street dragged U.S. stocks lower, and Hong Kong’s benchmark index fell more than 2% as investors remained wary of China’s plans to help its struggling property sector.

U.S. futures rose as oil prices fell.

Chinese officials briefed reporters in Beijing on the outcome of a high-level meeting of the Communist Party in power, providing some details of the comprehensive plan he endorsed to make China a technology leader, develop its financial markets and raise living standards.

But the information remains relatively vague, even if details are expected in the coming weeks. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index lost 2.1% to 17,401.86 and the Shanghai Composite index fell by 0.1%, to 2,974.62.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 lost 0.4% to 39,979.79 points, while South Korea’s Kospi fell 1.6% to 2,778.31 points. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 1.1% to 7,949.50 points.

In Taiwan, the Taiex fell 1.8%, while shares of computer chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. fell 2.4%, extending losses triggered by a report that Washington could step up efforts to restrict sales to China of semiconductors and equipment used to make and test them.

TSMC’s U.S. shares rose 0.4% on Thursday after the industrial giant reported a profit for the latest quarter that beat analysts’ expectations. It rebounded from its 8% loss the day before, but only after swinging between gains and losses.

The tech sector’s rout this week dragged U.S. and Asian markets lower after a string of strong gains.

European indices were mixed on Thursday after the The European Central Bank kept its main interest rate unchanged.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 fell 0.8% to 5,544.59 points. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1.3% to 40,665.02 points and the Nasdaq plunged 0.7% to 17,871.22 points.

As they had done the day before, when the Nasdaq had fallen to its worst loss since 2022Several Big Tech stocks led the market lower. Apple was down 2%, while Amazon and 0.7% for Microsoft were three of the heaviest weights in the S&P 500.

But shares of chipmakers have stabilized. Nvidia rose 2.9% and extended its gain for the year to nearly 145%.

Earlier this year, a surge for Nvidia and some of the other stocks that have become known like the “Magnificent Seven” could have been enough to support the rest of the market as their stock prices soared amid frenzy around artificial intelligence technologyeven as other stocks struggled under the weight of higher interest rates and slowing economic growth.

Thursday’s losses hit many segments of the market. Small stocks, which had been rising after lagging their larger rivals, fell more than the rest of the market. The Russell 2000 index lost 1.8% after jumping more than 1% in five of the past six days.

Most S&P 500 stocks fell, with Domino’s Pizza posting the biggest loss, falling 13.6%, despite beating analysts’ expectations for profit in the spring. The pizza chain temporarily suspended its forecast for how many stores it will open worldwide in the long term.

Darden Restaurantsthe company behind Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse and other chains, fell 3%. It said it would buy Tex-Mex chain Chuy’s in an all-cash deal valuing it at $605 million. Chuy’s shares jumped 47.8%

There were mixed reports on the U.S. economy on Thursday. One report said More and more workers have applied for unemployment benefits Last week, employment numbers came in higher than economists expected. That could indicate a slowdown in the jobs market, although the number is still low by historical standards. Another report says manufacturing in the Mid-Atlantic region is growing much better than economists expected.

Recent encouraging reports on inflation has raised expectations Federal Reserve May Start Lowering Interest Rates The Fed announced in September that it was keeping its benchmark interest rate at its highest level in more than two decades. Investors are hoping the economy can stay in a “Goldilocks” state, where it is not so hot that it puts upward pressure on inflation but not so cold that it slides into a recession.

Expectations of stronger corporate profit growth also helped boost market gains.

In other trading Friday morning, benchmark U.S. crude oil fell 51 cents to $80.79 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Brent, the international benchmark, lost 37 cents to $84.74 a barrel.

The US dollar rose from 157.37 to 157.42 Japanese yen. The euro fell from 1.0897 to 1.0890 dollars.

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AP Business reporter Stan Choe contributed to this report.