Asian markets set for decline again as tech stocks falter

Asian markets were expected to fall on Friday in response to declines in technology stocks that began last week and growing concerns about another round of negotiations on the UK's departure from the European Union.

"It’s another day of declines, broad-based declines," said Kyle Rodda, a markets analyst at IG Markets. "We’re still caught in that storm where markets are trying to reprice themselves. In the big picture, we’re a one-story market now, the big tech correction.

“The other thing today is the narrative with Brexit. That seems to be spiraling into another two to three months where we’ll be seeing if there will be a hard Brexit or not. It’s almost like an annual event now."

The European Union told Britain on Thursday it should abandon a plan to break their divorce treaty, but Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government refused and moved forward with a draft law that could sink four years of Brexit talks.

Australian S&P/ASX 200 futures were down 1.34 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei 225 futures were up 0.28 per cent.

The Nikkei 225 index closed up 0.88 per cent at 23,235.47​​​​ on Thursday. The futures contract is down 0.76 per cent from that close​.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index futures were mostly unchanged.

MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe was roughly flat.

On Wall Street on Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 405.89 points, or 1.45 per cent, to 27,534.58, the S&P 500 lost 59.77 points, or 1.76 per cent, to 3,339.19 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 221.97 points, or 1.99 per cent, to 10,919.59.

Names that have rallied since March lows, such as Apple Inc, Microsoft Corp and Amazon.com, all fell at least 2.8 per cent.

The euro rose to a one-week high against the dollar on Thursday after European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde suggested the ECB was unlikely to undertake measures to weaken the euro despite its recent gains.

Oil prices slid again after US data showed a build in crude stockpiles last week stemming in part from ongoing reductions at refineries along the Gulf of Mexico after Hurricane Laura.