HONG KONG (AP) — Asian stocks tumbled Friday, with Japan’s Nikkei slumping 2.4% on heavy selling of semiconductor-related shares and other market heavyweights.
Tensions in the Middle East were weighing on sentiment across the region, and U.S. futures were sharply lower.
Oil prices jumped as the state-run IRNA news agency reported that Iran fired air defense batteries early Friday morning after reports of explosions near the city of Isfahan.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 2.4% to 37,156.54, paring losses in the early trading when it plunged 3.5%.
Semiconductor equipment supplier Lasertec was the largest loser, which lost 8.4%. But most other big tech-related shares also dropped. Renesas gave up 6%, Tokyo Electron lost 8.7% and Sony Group Corp. declined 1.8%.
Toyota Motor Corp was down 2.2%.
Japan’s headline inflation rate slowed to 2.7% in March, the government reported, while the core-core index, excluding fresh food and energy costs, moderated to 2.9%, marking the first time since November 2022 that it fell below 3%.
Justin Timberlake set to bring his The Forget Tomorrow World Tour to Australia in 2025
Inside Harry and Meghan's 'discreet' £3,000
From acting to the squared circle, Emmy winner Hauser is ready to rumble for Major League Wrestling
Van der Poel will skip mountain bike event at Paris Olympics to focus on road race
Lisa Armstrong escapes to Portugal just 24 hours after being left 'deeply sad' by ex
70 years ago of school integration after Brown v Board
A second scourge is battering Brazil's flooded south: Disinformation
Eleanor Tomlinson puts on a leggy display in sparkly black minidress as she joins co
A third miner is declared dead in a cave