Asian shares step back from record as tech jitters return, bonds rally

SYDNEY: Asian shares retreated from record highs on Friday as worries about shrinking margins in the tech sector hit the likes of Apple, driving investors into safe-haven bonds ahead of key US inflation data.

Overnight on Wall Street, the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite tumbled 2% after Cisco Systems posted quarterly adjusted gross margin below estimates as costs of memory chips surged. That drove its shares down 12% and wiped out about $40 billion of its market cap.

The selloff spilled over into tech giants like Apple, which tumbled 5% in the biggest daily drop since April last year when U.S. President Donald Trump’s sweeping “Liberation Day” tariffs spooked markets. Transportation companies also got caught up in worries about AI disruption.

“The prevailing tone in markets is a rotation toward more defensive areas of the equity market and companies with steady, less cyclical and more predictable earnings,” said Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone.

“It is clear that investors are viewing developments in AI and AGI through a new lens, attempting to price a future that feels more uncertain and structurally disruptive than before.”

On Friday, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.6%, trimming this week’s gain to 4.1%. Japan’s Nikkei skidded 0.9%, but was still up 5.3% for the week.

Chinese blue chips dropped 0.6% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index slid 1.5%.

Both Nasdaq futures and S&P 500 were up 0.1%, while EURO STOXX 50 futures climbed 0.2%.

Precious metals attempted to recover from heavy losses.

Gold rose 1% to $4,972 an ounce, after losing over 3% on Thursday, while silver climbed 2% to $76.8 an ounce, having plunged 10% overnight.

Traders await us inflation test

The broad selloff in stocks pushed buyers towards US Treasuries, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year note tumbling 7 basis points overnight, its biggest drop since October 10.

It was steady in early Friday trade at 4.1154%.

A very strong auction of the 30-year bonds helped drive longer-term yields lower. 30-year yields slumped 8.5 basis points overnight to 4.728%, its lowest since December 3.

Fed funds futures also rallied to reverse most of the losses after the payrolls data that led markets to pare back the chance of a rate cut in June.

A move in June is now back in play, with the chance priced at 70%, and a total easing of 60 basis points is expected this year.

Much attention will be on the US inflation data due later in the day. Forecasts are centred on a monthly rise of 0.3% in the core measure, which is enough to see the annual rate slow to 2.5% from 2.7% previously.

“Even an in-line result would reflect a meaningful deceleration from December and that could bolster animal spirits and spark energy back into the cyclical trade,” said Jose Torres, a senior economist at Interactive Brokers.

In the currency markets, the risk-sensitive Australian and New Zealand dollars took a step back. The Aussie was steady at $0.7089, having lost 0.5% overnight, while the kiwi traded at $0.6033, after slipping 0.3% overnight.

Oil prices were flat after a sharp 3% slide overnight on falling demand, easing fears of renewed Middle East conflict and an expected increase in supply.

US West Texas Intermediate crude tacked on 0.2% to $62.95 per barrel, while Brent crude futures edged up 0.2% to $67.65 per barrel.