MANILA, Philippines — MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Asian shares mostly fell on Friday, after a respite from Wall Street’s recent feverish rally. The price of gold also pulled back from record highs following recent torrid runs.
U.S. futures and oil prices were higher.
Nealy all Asian indexes were down, with the exception of South Korea’s Kospi, which climbed 1.3% to 3,596.36 as trading reopened after a holiday.
The surge was fueled by a rally of tech shares including SK Hynix, which was up nearly 7%. Samsung Electronics rose 5.4%, boosted by news that Nvidia-backed Reflection AI had raised $2 billion, raising its market value to $8 billion.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1% to 48,087.75, pulling back from big gains the previous day after data showed producer prices rose more than expected in September.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index shed 0.8% to 26,534.65, while the Shanghai Composite index slipped 0.5% to 3,913.98.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slid 0.1% to 8,959.80. Taiwan’s stock market was closed for a holiday.
On Thursday, the S&P 500 slipped 0.3% from its latest all-time high for just its second loss in the last 10 days, closing at 6,735.11. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.5% to 46,358.42, and the Nasdaq composite edged down by 0.1% to 23,024.63.
Gold also fell following its stellar rally this year, losing 2.4% to drop back below $4,000 per ounce, while Treasury yields held relatively steady in the bond market. They’re taking a moment following big runs driven in large part by expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates to support the economy.
Financial markets have been climbing so relentlessly, including a 35% leap for the S&P 500 from a low in April, that worries are mounting that prices may have shot too high. Concerns are particularly strong about the frenzy lifting stocks related to artificial-intelligence technology.
Dell Technologies sank 5.2% for the biggest loss in the S&P 500, but that only trimmed its surge since talking up its AI growth opportunities at an investment conference earlier in the week. The stock was still up nearly 11% for the week so far.
Tesla also weighed on the market after falling 0.7%. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened a preliminary evaluation of its “Full Self-Driving” system due to safety concerns.
Those losses helped offset a 4.3% ascent for Delta Air Lines, which reported a stronger profit for the summer than analysts expected.
Delta also forecasted a range for profit during the year’s final three months whose midpoint topped analysts’ estimates. Its president, Glen Hauenstein, highlighted a broad-based acceleration in sales trends over the last six weeks, including for domestic business travel.
Such corporate reports have gained importance since they offer insights into the strength of the U.S. economy after U.S. government shutdown is delayed reports that usually serve that purpose. This is the second week where the U.S. government has not published its update on unemployment claims, for example, a report that usually helps guide Wall Street’s trading each Thursday.
In other dealings early Friday, U.S. benchmark crude oil added 10 cents to $61.61 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, edged up 5 cents to $65.27 per barrel.
The U.S. dollar fell to 152.74 Japanese yen from 153.05 yen. The euro rose to $1.1572 from $1.1569.
___
AP Business Writers Stan Choe and Matt Ott contributed.
