Asian stocks today: Markets fall following Wall Street’s losses; HSI sheds 1%, Nikkei down over 840 points

Asian markets traded in red on Friday as investors reacted to a sharp drop on Wall Street.Hong Kong’s HSI dipped 301 points or 1.11% to 26,771. Nikkei also fell 847 points or 1.65% to reach 50,434 at 8:45 AM IST. Shanghai and Shenzhen also traded in red, falling 0.13% and 1.07%, respectively. In South Korea, Kospi plunged to 4,071, shedding 99 points or 2.38%.The drop also came as traders became cautious about next month’s US Federal Reserve interest rate decision, along with ongoing concerns of a possible tech bubble.Comments from Fed chair Jerome Powell last month, saying a December cut was not “a foregone conclusion,” also created doubts. Several other Fed officials have recently shared the same concerns.This week, three regional Fed presidents warned against easing too soon. St Louis Fed president Alberto Musalem said the bank should show “caution”, adding that “there’s limited room for further easing without monetary policy becoming overly accommodative”. Investors are also waiting for key economic data, including jobs and inflation numbers, that were delayed because of the record-length shutdown. Concerns about interest rates come at the same time as worries that tech stocks may be overpriced. A huge rush into artificial intelligence this year pushed markets to record highs, but some analysts now say the profits may take longer to show. US markets dropped heavily on Thursday. The Nasdaq fell more than 2%, while the Dow Jones and S&P 500 both slipped 1.7%.Oil prices climbed after the International Energy Agency warned that new US sanctions on Russia’s two biggest oil producers could threaten output. The IEA said the sanctions could have “the most far-reaching impact yet on global oil markets”.Friday’s gain of more than two% came after crude prices dropped earlier in the week when OPEC predicted an oversupply in the third quarter.