World stocks track Wall Street drop as global markets sink

MANILA, Philippines — World stocks on Friday tracked Wall Street’s sharp drop in skittish trading, with major benchmarks erasing the previous day’s gains.

Worries persist about a bubble in artificial intelligence -related shares. Better than expected U.S. jobs data also have raised the likelihood that the Federal Reserve will hold off on an interest rate cut in December, disappointing investors who have been counting on rate cuts to fuel more gains.

The future for the S&P 500 was up 0.2% while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged 0.3% higher.

In early European trading, Germany’s DAX declined 0.9% to 23,063.05, while Britain’s FTSE 100 dropped 0.5% to 9,484.29. In Paris, the CAC 40 shed 0.6% to 7,935.43.

Other big recent winners also lost ground. Bitcoin dropped 4.5% to $82,500, down from nearly $125,000 last month.

In Asian trading, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 2.4% to 48,625.88 as the government approved a 21.3 trillion yen ($135 billion) stimulus package that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi promised as part of efforts to revive the sluggish economy. However, the plans for higher government spending that would delay progress toward trimming down the national debt have put the yen and Japanese government bonds under pressure.

The yield on the 30-year government bond has been touching record levels on heavy selling, hitting 3.37% on Friday.

Meanwhile, data released Friday showed the country’s core inflation rate excluding volatile food prices rose to 3.0% in October from 2.9% in September.

Japan reported Friday that its exports to the rest of the world rose in October, while those to the U.S. fell. Higher shipments to elsewhere in Asia helped offset the drop in exports to the U.S due to President Donald Trump’s higher tariffs.

In the stock market, selling of tech shares dominated, with computer chip test equipment maker Advantest sinking 12.1%, while chip maker Tokyo Electron lost 7.1%.

South Korea’s KOSPI tumbled 3.8% to 3,853.26, reversing Thursday’s gains. Samsung Electronics sank 5.8%, while SK Hynix plunged 8.8%.

In Chinese markets, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index skidded 2.4 % to 25,220.02 while the Shanghai Composite index slid nearly 2.5% to 3,834.89, with pressure also coming from escalating friction between China and Japan over Taiwan.

Taiwan’s Taiex shed 3.6%, with market heavyweight TSMC, the world’s biggest contract maker of semiconductors, falling 4.8%.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 1.6% to 8,416.50. while India’s BSE Sensex declined 0.5%.

“What began as a textbook “Nvidia bounce” flipped into one of the most violent intraday reversals since the April dump, and Asia — ever the obedient understudy — marched directly into the same plunge tank on the open,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.

On Thursday, jarring swings rocked Wall Street, and U.S. stocks erased a big morning gain to drop as the market remains skittish following weeks of doubts and erratic moves.

The S&P 500 erased early gains to fall 1.6% to 6,538.76, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.8% to 45,752.26. The Nasdaq composite sank 2.2% to 22,078.05.

Nvidia initially appeared to tamp down the worries about a bubble for AI stocks after reporting a big profit for the summer, along with a forecast for coming revenue that easily cleared analysts’ expectations. By delivering strong profits and indicating more are coming, Nvidia can justify its stock’s price gains and make it look less expensive.

In other dealings early Friday, U.S. benchmark crude oil slid $1.17 to $57.82 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, lost $1.11 to $62.27 per barrel.

The U.S. dollar fell to 156.65 Japanese yen from 157.46 yen. The euro rose to $1.1521 from $1.1529.