People watch the first sunrise of the new year from a footbridge overlooking the city skyline in Seoul on January 1, 2024.
Jung Yeon-je | Afp | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets were set to open lower Friday, after U.S. tech stocks lost ground and investors’ hopes dimmed of a December rate cut by the Federal Reserve.
Oracle and AMD were among the first AI plays to fall into the red on the session, followed by Nvidia, which reversed gains and closed nearly 3% lower.
Stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs data renewed doubts about whether the central bank will lower its benchmark overnight rate. Traders were pricing roughly a 40% chance of a quarter-point cut next month, according to the CME FedWatch Tool, a setback for investors hoping for lower borrowing costs.
Over in Asia, investors will be watching for any spillover to the region’s tech-heavyweights, as well as key economic data from Japan.
Japan’s core inflation in October rose at its sharpest rate since July, in line with market estimates on Friday, supporting the case for interest rate hikes by the Bank of Japan.
The Nikkei 225 futures pointed to a weaker open, with the contract in Chicago at 48,265, implying a drop of over 3%, while its counterpart in Osaka was at 48,460, compared to the previous close of 49,823.94.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 2% on its open.
Hong Kong Hang Seng index futures were at 25,460, lower than the HSI’s last close of 25,835.57.
Overnight in the U.S., the Nasdaq Composite fell 2.16%, down from a 2.6% advance at one point in the session.
Other major indexes also slipped, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.84%. The S&P 500 shed 1.56%, despite rising as much as 1.9% earlier in the day.
—CNBC’s Liz Napolitano, Pia Singh, and Alex Harring contributed to this report.
