Asia-Pacific markets experienced a decline on Friday, following a downturn in U.S. tech stocks and a diminishing optimism among investors regarding a potential rate cut by the Federal Reserve in December. Japan’s Nikkei 225 experienced a decline of 2.4%, closing at 48,625.88, whereas the Topix index concluded the day with no significant change. Tech conglomerate SoftBank experienced a decline exceeding 10%. Other technology stocks within the index experienced further declines, as Advantest decreased by 12.1%, Tokyo Electron fell by more than 7%, Lasertec dropped over 5%, and Renesas Electron declined by 2.65%. In October, Japan experienced its most significant increase in core inflation since July, aligning with market expectations on Friday, thereby bolstering the argument for potential interest rate hikes by the Bank of Japan.

South Korea’s Kospi index reduced its losses, ultimately declining 3.79% to finish at 3,853.26, while the small-cap Kosdaq experienced a retreat of 3.14%, closing at 863.95. Kospi’s heavyweights Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix experienced declines of up to 5.77% and 8.76%, respectively. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 experienced a decline of 1.59%, settling at 8,416.5. The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong experienced a decline of 2.38%, closing at 25,220.02, whereas the Hang Seng Tech index concluded the day down by 3.21% at 5,395.49. Tech major Baidu experienced a decline of 5.79%, while Tencent saw a decrease of 1.77%. The Hang Seng auto stocks experienced a decline. Chinese electric-vehicle manufacturer BYD experienced a decline of 2.57%, whereas Nio and Li Auto saw reductions exceeding 4% and 2%, respectively. The mainland’s CSI 300 experienced a further decline, closing down 2.44% at 4,453.6. India’s Nifty 50 experienced a decline of 0.34%, whereas the BSE Sensex index recorded a decrease of 0.29%.

Meanwhile, bitcoin extended its decline to $83,829.94, marking its lowest level in seven months. Ether reached its lowest point since July, subsequently recovering some losses, and was last recorded down 4.09% at $2,719.56. Overnight in the U.S., Oracle and AMD were among the initial AI stocks to decline during the session, subsequently joined by Nvidia, which reversed its earlier gains and finished nearly 3% lower. Stronger than anticipated U.S. jobs data has rekindled uncertainties regarding the central bank’s potential decision to reduce its benchmark overnight rate. Market participants were assigning approximately a 40% probability to a quarter-point reduction in the upcoming month, as per indication, representing a disappointment for those investors anticipating decreased borrowing expenses.

On Thursday in the United States, the Nasdaq Composite experienced a decline of 2.16%, having previously risen by 2.6% at one stage during the session. Other major indexes also experienced declines, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average decreasing by 0.84%. The S&P 500 declined by 1.56%, having previously increased by as much as 1.9% during the day.