Asian shares drop after Wall Street retreats thanks to sinking tech stocks

Asian shares slipped Thursday after more drops for technology stocks weighed on Wall Street.

U.S. futures edged higher and oil prices sank more than $1 a barrel.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 shed 0.7% to 53,935.77, while the Kospi in South Korea skidded 3.2%, to 5,199.47.

Chinese markets also retreated, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng falling 1.2% to 26,516.38. The Shanghai Composite index gave up 0.8% to 4,069.27.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.3% to 8,902.20, while Taiwan's Taiex lost 1.1%.

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 fell 0.5% for its fifth modest loss in the last six days, closing at 6,882.72. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5% to 49,501.30 and the Nasdaq composite sank 1.5% to 22,904.58.

More than twice as many stocks rose within the S&P 500 than fell, but sinking technology stocks weighed on the index for a second straight day.

Advanced Micro Devices dropped 17.3% even though the chip company reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It also gave a forecast for revenue for the start of 2026 that topped analysts’ expectations, but that may not have satisfied investors after its stock doubled over the last 12 months.

Tech stocks are under pressure even when they deliver stronger-than-expected profits after their prices shot higher as they've grown to dominate markets. Companies like software makers, meanwhile, are struggling with questions about whether they’ll lose in the future to competitors powered by artificial-intelligence technology.

Uber Technologies also dragged on the market after falling 5.1%. The ride-hailing company reported results for the latest quarter that fell short of analysts’ expectations. It also gave a forecast for profit in the current quarter that was below analysts’ expectations, while naming a new chief financial officer.

Some tech stocks nevertheless climbed, including a 13.8% rise for Super Micro Computer. The company, which sells AI servers and other equipment, delivered a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected.

Eli Lilly rallied 10.3% after topping analysts’ expectations for profit in the latest quarter. It’s been riding big growth created by its Mounjaro and Zepbound products for diabetes and weight loss.

Match Group climbed 5.9% after reporting better results than analysts expected and increasing its dividend.

Walmart edged up by 0.2%, a day after its total market value topped $1 trillion for the first time. The retailer has broken into a small club dominated by Big Tech companies like Nvidia and Apple, which are each worth more than $4 trillion.

Gold and silver prices rose after paring bigger, early gains. Gold added 0.3% to settle at $4,950.80 per ounce after earlier climbing back above the $5,000 mark. It’s been swinging sharply after roughly doubling in price over 12 months. It neared $5,600 last week and then fell below $4,500 on Monday.

Silver’s price, which has been on an even wilder ride, rose 1.3%.

Their prices had surged as investors looked for safer places to keep their money amid worries about everything from tariffs to a weaker U.S. dollar to heavy debt loads for governments worldwide. But critics said their prices rose too far, too fast and were due for a pullback.

Treasury yields held relatively steady following a couple mixed reports on the U.S. economy.

One from ADP Research suggested that U.S. employers outside of the government hired fewer workers last month than economists expected.

A second from the Institute for Supply Management said that growth for health care, construction and other U.S. services businesses continued in January at the same pace that economists expected. It indicated, though, that prices paid by U.S. services businesses rose at a faster rate in January, which could be a discouraging signal for inflation.

In other dealings early Thursday, U.S. benchmark crude oil fell $1.19 to $63.95 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, lost $1.24 to $68.22 per barrel.

The dollar rose to 156.83 Japanese yen from 156.80 yen. The euro fell to $1.1795 from $1.1804.