GLOBAL MARKETS-Asian stocks follow Wall Street lower, nervous wait for U.S. jobs data

* Tech leads modest losses across Asia
* MSCI AxJ down 1.5%, shallower than 5% Nasdaq plunge
* Limited spillover into currency and bond markets; payrolls
eyed
* Asian stock markets: https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4

By Tom Westbrook
SINGAPORE, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Asia's stock markets had their
worst session in two weeks on Friday following a tech-led plunge
on Wall Street, though gains in safer assets like bonds and
dollars were muted as investors awaited U.S. job data to see if
it triggers a bigger selloff.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
.MIAPJ0000PUS fell 1.5% and looked set to snap a six-week
winning streak with a 2.3% weekly loss, its biggest since April.
The Nikkei .N225 declined 1%. Australia's ASX 200 .AXJO
led losses with a 3% fall as global investors sold
growth-exposed miners like BHP BHP.AX and traders trimmed
positions ahead of the weekend in case Wall Street takes another
dive.
Elsewhere drops were a little lighter, with a 1.5% decline
for the Hang Seng .HSI and a 1.3% fall in Korea - much less
than the overnight 5% plunge in the tech-heavy Nasdaq .IXIC .
"It's not panic selling," said Jun Bei Liu, a portfolio
manager at Sydney's Tribeca Investment Partners which runs about
A$2 billion ($1.4 billion) in domestic and international funds.
"The pullback is probably a healthy pullback, given the
amount of outperformance tech companies have had."
Futures were under pressure but backed off early lows.
Nasdaq 100 futures NQc1 were last down 1.1%, S&P 500 futures
ESc1 down 0.3% and those for the pan-Europe Euro STOXX 50
STXEc1 were up 0.3%. FTSE FFIc1 futures fell 0.5%.
Focus is now on U.S. payrolls figures due at 1230 GMT, which
could be a selling trigger if an expected slowdown in hiring is
deeper than forecast. Foreign exchange markets were on edge at the possibility and
a safety bid helped the dollar cling to gains that have it
headed for its best week in more than two months. FRX/
The euro EUR=EBS , which has fallen from a 28-month peak
above $1.20 on talk that the European Central Bank is concerned
about its strength, seems to have arrested its slide for now,
and last sat at $1.1848.
The yen JPY=EBS was steady at 106.16 per dollar and bonds
pared what was a pretty modest rise overnight, given the selloff
in the equity market.
Benchmark U.S. 10-year bond yields US10YT=RR rose about 2
basis points on Friday, having fallen about 3 basis points
overnight. US/

TECH TUMBLE
Thursday's tumble was the biggest one-day percentage drop on
the tech-focused Nasdaq 100 .NDX since March and the darling
stocks of recent months were hit hardest. .N
Apple AAPL.O fell 8%, Tesla TSLA.O 9% and Microsoft
MSFT.O 6%. Still, the plunge only wound the Nasdaq .IXIC
back as far as where it sat last Tuesday. It is still up 28% for
the year so far and 73% higher than its March trough.
"No single factor sparked the sell-off," said Kerry
Craig, Global Market Strategist at J.P. Morgan Asset Management,
citing more general worries the rally had run too far, too fast.
"However, this is unlikely to be a repeat of the tech wreck
of the late 1990s, given how much the market and sector have
changed," he added.
Tech selling in Asia was limited. In South Korea Samsung
005930.KS fell 1.3% and there was modest pressure on Apple
suppliers in Shanghai and Taipei. But falls in consumer staples
and financials led losses on the Hong Kong and China bourses.
In commodity markets, a firm dollar has kept pressure on
prices. Oil was headed for its largest weekly drop since June
amid worries about demand as the U.S. summer driving season
draws to a close.
Brent crude futures LCOc1 fell 0.8% to $43.72 a barrel and
U.S. crude CLc1 fell 0.9% to $41.00 a barrel. O/R
Gold XAU= drifted lower as equities sold off overnight but
was last up 0.3% for the day at $1,935 an ounce. GOL/
($1 = 1.3763 Australian dollars)

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Emerging markets http://tmsnrt.rs/2ihRugV
MSCI All Country Wolrd Index Market Cap http://tmsnrt.rs/2EmTD6j
Slump: how every S&P 500 stock fared on Thursday Slump: how
every S&P 500 stock fared on Thursday https://tmsnrt.rs/34LqC0H
Global currencies vs. dollar http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
Tech selloff pulls Wall Street sharply lower Tech selloff pulls
Wall Street sharply lower https://tmsnrt.rs/3gQUtHu
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