Stocks slide, oil prices jump as tech, Mideast war in focus

Tokyo and Taipei stock markets led a fresh selloff for technology shares Friday, as concerns that the sector had been overbought in recent months intensified.

Oil prices rallied, with international benchmark Brent North Sea crude powering above $86 a barrel, as the United States and Iran traded fresh attacks.

"The technology selloff is not the only reason markets are in a sour mood," noted Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote bank.  

"Developments in the Middle East are getting worse by the hour."

Trade Nation analyst David Morrison said "the ongoing conflict, combined with threats to major shipping routes such as the Strait of Hormuz and potentially the Red Sea, has increased uncertainty across global financial markets."

Asian and European stock markets also took their cue from Wall Street's finish on Thursday, where sharp falls in Nvidia and Amazon helped drag down the Nasdaq by more than one percent.

Netflix meanwhile plunged more than nine percent in after-hours trading as it warned of slowing sales growth.

Its shares tumbled more than 10 percent at the opening bell on Friday, as the tech-heavy Nasdaq slumped 1.8 percent, with semiconductor and tech stocks leading the losses.

With South Korea enjoying a holiday on Friday, Tokyo and Taipei -- also heavily weighted toward tech -- were at the forefront of Asia's latest selling heading into the weekend.

Japan's Nikkei ended the day down four percent with shares in semiconductor tester Advantest, Tokyo Electron and tech investment titan SoftBank each sliding more than seven percent. 

Chipmaker Kioxia collapsed 16 percent, meaning it has lost around half its value since briefly becoming Japan's biggest firm by market capitalisation last month.

Taiwan's Taiex index had shed 6.5 percent by the close Friday, as chipmaker TSMC retreated more than seven percent -- a day after announcing record second-quarter profit and that it would invest a further $100 billion in the US state of Arizona.

"While earnings and demand trends remain strong, recent profit-taking suggests some market participants are questioning how long the current pace of growth can continue," said Trade Nation's Morrison. 

Europe's main stock markets were all in the red in afternoon trading.

Shares in British energy giants Shell and BP climbed thanks to rising oil prices but luxury fashion brand Burberry slid more than seven percent as investors felt its latest trading update did not show enough improvement.

"Burberry looked primed to strut its stuff based on one of its best quarters in years, but a cautious outlook and weak showing in certain markets saw the shares trip up," said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

- Key figures around 1045 GMT -

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 2.8 percent at $86.58 a barrel

West Texas Intermediate: UP 3.2 percent at $80.79 a barrel

New York - Dow: DOWN 1.0 percent at 52,025.65 points

New York - S&P 500: DOWN 1.2 percent at 7,442.19

New York - Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 1.8 percent at 25,415.19

London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.3 percent at 10,536.59  

Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.8 percent at 8,310.70

Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.8 percent at 24,728.65

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 4.0 percent at 64,141.12 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 2.1 percent at 24,505.38 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 3.0 percent at 3,764.15 (close)

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1428 from $1.1436 on Thursday

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3436 from $1.3468

Dollar/yen: UNCHANGED at 162.42 yen

Euro/pound: UP at 85.05 pence from 84.91 pence

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© Agence France-Presse