Asian shares slip, dragged lower by decline in tech stocks on Wall Street

Asian shares mostly slipped Friday, dragged lower by a decline in technology stocks on Wall Street.

Benchmarks fell in Tokyo, Seoul, Shanghai and Hong Kong but rose in Sydney.

Traders are awaiting the US government's latest monthly jobs report, expected later Friday. Unemployment data announced Thursday was 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 per cent on Thursday and is on track for a 0.3 per cent weekly loss.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 slipped 0.4 per cent to 28,937.79. South Korea's Kospi lost 0.3 per cent to 3,238.40, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.5 per cent to 7,295.40. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.3 per cent to 28,873.65 and the Shanghai Composite edged 0.1 per cent lower, to 3,581.55.

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.

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

Microsoft fell 0.6 per cent and Apple lost 1.2 per cent.

Retailers, hotel operators and a variety of other companies that rely on direct consumer spending also posted some of the biggest declines, as did communications companies. Etsy slid 5.4 per cent, Tesla dropped 5.3 per cent, Wynn Resorts fell 4.1 per cent and Facebook lost 0.9 per cent. Banks and health care companies rose.