Asian stocks retreat on global recession angst; tech dives

By Kevin Buckland

TOKYO (Reuters) – Asian stocks declined on Friday, extending a global equity slide to a third day, as investors fretted over recession risks amid signs of further aggressive central bank policy tightening and new signs of a deep semiconductor slump.

The dollar and Treasury yields remained elevated after multiple Federal Reserve officials continued to talk up additional rate hikes ahead of a crucial U.S. jobs report later in the day, while rising prices compounded concerns about prolonged inflation.

dropped 0.72% as of 0530 GMT, pulling back from a two-week high reached on Thursday, with losses for tech names standing out after U.S. chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:) cut its quarterly revenue forecast by about a billion dollars.

South Korea’s Kospi slipped 0.24%, weighed partly by a decline in Samsung Electronics (OTC:) shares, after the technology giant flagged a worse-than-expected 32% drop in quarterly operating earnings.

Hong Kong’s was 1.55% lower, with its tech stocks tumbling 3.22%. Mainland Chinese shares remain closed for the final day of the Golden Week holiday.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares declined 1.18%.

The selling looks set to continue in Europe, with futures down 0.33% and futures off 0.26%.

U.S. e-mini futures pointed 0.23% lower, after the index dropped 1% overnight. [.N]

Fed officials showed no intention of backing down from the most aggressive rate hike campaign in decades, with Fed Governor Lisa Cook, Chicago Fed President Charles Evans and Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari all emphasising that the inflation fight was ongoing and they were not prepared to change course.

Stocks started the week on a strong footing, with the MSCI world equity index rallying 5.65% in the first two days amid speculation that the pace of central bank tightening might slow, but that has fizzled out since Wednesday.

Markets currently price an 85.5% chance of a 75 basis point increase for next month’s Federal Open Market Committee meeting, and 14.5% odds for a half point bump.

Investors will now be looking to Friday’s non-farm payrolls report for some clarity as to whether a steady diet of rate hikes has begun to take a bite out of hiring and wage inflation.

“Ongoing hawkish comments by Fed officials (are) a clear pushback on the ‘Fed will pivot’ narrative that has supported risk assets since the beginning of the week,” said Tapas Strickland, head of market economics at National Australia Bank (OTC:).

“Some positioning ahead of U.S. payrolls tonight is also probably a factor. Given the rally in risk assets earlier in the week, the pain trade would seem to be a ‘good news is bad news’ print.”

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note was at 3.8266% in Tokyo trading, little changed from its New York close following a two-day rebound from a two-week low of 3.5620%.

The , which tracks the greenback versus a basket of six major peers, was little changed at 112.16 following a 1.84% two-day rally from a two-week low.

“Clients have asked if we foresee an imminent shift in stance from the Fed given … the sharp risk asset moves,” Meghan Swiber, an analyst at BofA Securities, wrote in a report.

“We think these concerns are misplaced and that the Fed’s job is still far from over. The Fed will keep hiking until the labor market cracks.”

Sterling sagged near its lowest level this week, last changing hands at $1.1170, while the euro sank to the lowest since Monday at $0.9787 and was last at $0.98005.

Japan’s yen weakened past 145 again overnight and fluctuated around that level in Friday trading. Japanese authorities intervened to support their currency for the first time since 1998 on Sept. 22 following a break of the 145 level.

Crude oil on Friday steadied after a rapid climb triggered by OPEC+ output cuts announced this week. [O/R]

futures slipped 11 cents to $94.31 a barrel. WTI crude futures were down 5 cents to $88.40 a barrel, after earlier hitting $89.37 per barrel, the highest since Sept. 14.

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