WORLD MARKET UPDATE

 Dow futures drop 200 points as Wall Street braces for more tech losses

U.S. stock futures fell on Thursday night, building on the downside momentum from the regular trading session as Big Tech was primed for another steep decline. 

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures dropped 207 points, or 0.7%. S&P 500 futures were down by 0.9% and Nasdaq 100 futures slid 1.6%.

Shares of major tech companies fell broadly in after-hours trading. Apple slid 3%. Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, Alphabet and Microsoft all dropped at least 1%. 

Asia Pacific stocks fall after Wall Street plunge; Australia’s July retail sales data expected

Stocks in Asia Pacific fell in Friday morning trade following sharp declines on Wall Street overnight.

South Korean stocks led losses in the region, with the Kospi dropping 2.25% in early trade. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 declined 1.46% while the Topix index shed 1.15%.

Over in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 declined 1.03%.

Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index traded 0.53% lower.

Investor reaction to overnight moves stateside will be watched. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 807.77 points, or 2.8%, to 28,292.73 — its biggest one-day decline since June 11. The S&P 500 slid 3.5% to 3,455.06 and the Nasdaq Composite fell by 5% to close at 11,458.10.

“There has been no obvious catalyst for the move,” National Australia Bank’s Rodrigo Catril wrote in a note. “Now the question is whether the correction has legs or whether investors are temped back in.”

On the economic data front, Australia’s retail sales data for July is set to be out at around 9:30 a.m. HK/SIN on Friday. That follows the June quarter gross domestic product figures released earlier this week that showed the country officially entering a recession.

Ahead of that data release, the Australian dollar traded at $0.7258 after yesterday’s fall from above $0.732.

Later Friday stateside, a closely watched U.S. jobs report is also set to be released, with economists polled by Dow Jones expecting the U.S. economy to have added more than 1 million jobs last month.

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was last at 92.839 following its bounce this week from levels below 92.

The Japanese yen changed hands at 106.11 per dollar after its weakening yesterday from the 106.5 handle against the greenback.

Here’s a look at what’s on tap:

Australia: July retail sales data at 9:30 a.m. HK/SIN

U.S.: Nonfarm payrolls and unemployment rate for August 

Some key events to watch this week

U.S. jobs report Friday is forecast to show payrolls continued to rebound in August from virus lows.

Here are the main market moves:

Stocks

The S&P 500 Index sank 3.5% as of 4 p.m. New York time.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 1.4%.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.3%.

The MSCI Emerging Market Index dipped 1%.

Currencies

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index climbed 0.2%.

The euro was little changed at $1.1853.

The Japanese yen rose less than 0.1% to 106.13 per dollar.

Bonds

The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell two basis points to 0.63%.

Germany’s 10-year yield fell one basis point to -0.49%.

Britain’s 10-year yield rose less than one basis 

point to 0.23%.

Commodities

West Texas Intermediate crude declined 0.5% to $41.29 a barrel.

Gold fell 0.6% to $1,930.71 an ounce.

World Index

 Stocks Post Biggest Rout Since June as Tech Sinks: Markets Wrap

U.S. equities tumbled by the most in almost three months as the rotation away from high-flying tech stocks gained steam, with investors questioning the sustainability of lofty valuations.

The S&P 500 Index retreated from a record high and fell more than 3.5%, its biggest drop since early June, amid declines in Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and Facebook. The Nasdaq 100 sank 5%, its largest decline since March. European stocks erased gains and finished more than 1% lower.

Treasury yields dipped and the dollar rose.

Global equities are pulling back hard from unprecedented highs as investors question the justification for steep valuations as the pandemic rages on. While data Thursday showed applications for jobless claims fell last week, U.S. investors may need evidence of a fuller economic recovery after a 60% run-up in the S&P 500 since its March lows.

“What we’re seeing here just a little bit of a reckoning,” said Nancy Prial, co-chief executive officer at Essex Investment Management. “It’s too soon to say whether this is a pause that refreshes or whether this is the beginning of a more meaningful downturn in big tech. Most of these are great companies with really robust growth opportunities, but the stocks are very richly valued.”

The Cboe Volatility Index -- a measure of expected price swings for the S&P 500 Index known as Wall Street’s “fear gauge” -- rose to the highest level since June. Bitcoin fell as much as 7.6%.

Elsewhere, oil slumped. Major equity gauges in Asia were mixed.