Asian Markets Slip as Tech Stocks Tumble Ahead of Key U.S. Inflation Data

Asian stock markets retreated from record highs on Friday as concerns over shrinking profit margins in the technology sector triggered a broader shift toward safe-haven assets. The pullback followed a sharp selloff on Wall Street, where the Nasdaq Composite dropped 2% after Cisco Systems reported weaker-than-expected quarterly gross margins due to rising memory chip costs. Cisco shares plunged 12%, erasing nearly $40 billion in market value and dragging down other major tech stocks, including Apple, which fell 5% in its steepest decline since April last year.

The downturn in U.S. tech stocks spilled into Asia-Pacific markets. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.6%, trimming its weekly gain to 4.1%. Japan’s Nikkei dropped 0.9% but remained up 5.3% for the week. Chinese blue-chip stocks slipped 0.6%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index declined 1.5%. Despite the volatility, Nasdaq futures and S&P 500 futures edged 0.1% higher, and EURO STOXX 50 futures gained 0.2%.

Investors rotated into defensive sectors and U.S. Treasuries as bond yields declined sharply. The 10-year Treasury yield fell 7 basis points to 4.1154%, marking its biggest drop since October, while 30-year yields slid to 4.728% after strong demand at auction. Market expectations for a Federal Reserve rate cut in June strengthened, with traders pricing in a 70% probability and forecasting 60 basis points of easing this year.

Attention now turns to upcoming U.S. inflation data, with economists predicting a 0.3% monthly rise in core inflation and a slowdown in the annual rate to 2.5%. Meanwhile, gold rebounded 1% to $4,972 an ounce, silver climbed 2%, and oil prices steadied after a recent drop. Currency markets showed modest weakness in the Australian and New Zealand dollars as global investors await clearer signals on inflation and interest rates.