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REFILE-GLOBAL MARKETS-Stock markets slide on tech sell-off, dollar sags

Published 20/11/2018, 08:19 pm
Updated 20/11/2018, 08:19 pm
© Reuters.  REFILE-GLOBAL MARKETS-Stock markets slide on tech sell-off, dollar sags

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* MSCI Asia-Pacific index down 1.2 pct, Nikkei sheds 1.1 pct

* Spreadbetters expect European stocks to open lower

* Tech shares fall, tracking losses by Wall St peers

* Dollar sags after weak U.S. housing-related data

* Long-term US yields hover near 7-week lows

* Graphic: World FX rates in 2018 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh

By Shinichi Saoshiro

TOKYO, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Asian stock markets skidded on Tuesday and Europe was expected to follow, pressured by sharp losses on Wall Street as technology firms tumbled on worries about slackening demand.

The dollar sagged after weak U.S. data further sapped confidence in the currency, while oil prices slipped despite expected OPEC supply cuts.

Spreadbetters expected European stocks to open lower, with Britain's FTSE .FTSE falling 0.1 percent, Germany's DAX .GDAXI losing 0.5 percent and France's CAC .FCHI dipping 0.3 percent. U.S. S&P mini futures ESc1 were down 0.3 percent.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS dropped 1.2 percent.

Tech stocks were under pressure across Asia following U.S. losses. In Seoul, Samsung Electronics 005930.KS fell 2 percent and SK Hynix Inc 000660.KS dropped 3.5 percent, while Japan's Tokyo Electron 8035.T was down 1.8 percent, Advantest 6857.T lost 2.7 percent and Sony Corp 6758.T shed 3.1 percent.

U.S. stocks came under heavy selling on Monday, with Nasdaq .IXIC tumbling 3 percent, as investors dumped Apple AAPL.O , internet and other technology shares. Conflicting signals between the United States and China on their trade dispute added to caution. .N

"The drop by U.S. stocks will cut short any attempt by equity markets to mount a sustained bounce. Investor sentiment has been subdued by lingering weakness in U.S. technology shares," said Masahiro Ichikawa, senior strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Asset Management in Tokyo.

Japan's Nikkei .N225 slipped 1.1 percent, with shares of Nissan Motor Co 7201.T tumbling more than 5 percent after its Chairman Carlos Ghosn was arrested on Monday for alleged financial misconduct. He will be fired from the board this week. incident will make investors review if Japanese corporate governance is working," said Toru Ibayashi, executive director of Wealth Management at UBS Securities Japan.

Elsewhere in Asia, the Shanghai Composite Index .SSEC retreated 1.7 percent, Australian stocks .AXJO lost 0.4 percent and tech-heavy South Korean shares .KS11 dropped 1 percent.

Global stock markets have suffered a sharp shakeout in the past two months, pressured by worries of a peak in corporate earnings growth, rising borrowing costs, slowing global economic momentum and international trade tensions. Trillions of dollars were wiped off equities in a particularly torrid October month.

In currencies, the dollar struggled at a near two-week low against a basket of currencies.

Data released on Monday showed U.S. home builder sentiment recorded its steepest one-month drop in over 4-1/2 years in November. dollar had also been weighed down after Fed Vice Chair Richard Clarida and Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan late last week raised concerns over a potential global slowdown.

The U.S. currency has rallied strongly this year, buoyed by three Fed rate hikes and a robust economy, though some expect the bull run may be nearing an end.

With long-term U.S. Treasury yields slipping to a seven-week low of 3.052 percent US10YT=RR in the wake of weaker stocks and U.S. housing data, the dollar index against a basket of six major currencies .DXY hovered near 96.120, an 11-day low plumbed on Monday.

The euro was little changed at $1.1450 EUR= after gaining 0.35 percent overnight.

The dollar slipped to a three-week low of 112.40 yen JPY= and last traded at 112.55.

The Australian dollar, sensitive to shifts in risk sentiment, extended the previous day's retreat, slipping 0.3 percent to $0.7274 AUD=D4 .

Oil prices lost steam as fears about slower global demand and a surge in U.S. production outweighed expected supply cuts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). O/R

U.S. crude futures CLc1 were down 0.4 percent at $56.98 per barrel and Brent LCOc1 slipped 0.6 percent to $66.40 per barrel. O/R

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