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Tech Rout Visits Asian Stock Markets

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Asian stock markets joined the global tech rout on Monday, after declines last week in semiconductor shares on Wall Street, and on concerns the Federal Reserve may soon raise rates after the strong US jobs report on Friday.

Investors sentiments were also undercut by media reports of fresh hostilities in the Persian Gulf.

Brent crude prices rose 3.3% to $96.16 a barrel, during trading hours.

Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo finished in the red, as did other regional exchanges. Seoul's tech-heavy KOSPI index fell 8.3%, following on a 5.5% decline logged on Friday.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened lower and could not recover, finishing off 3.9% lower.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 2,563.52 to 64,024.60, as losing issues outnumbered losers 162 to 61.

Leading the upside was entertainment-house Toho, rising 6.8%, while silicon wafer-maker Sumco declined 12.8%.

In economic news, Japan's Q1 gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by an annualized real 1.8%, down from an initially reported increase of 2.1%, reported the Cabinet Office.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened lower and waffled thereafter, closing down 1.2% as traders backed away from property and tech issues.

The broad gauge Hang Seng fell 304.89 to 24,657.06 as losing issues outnumbered gainers 63 to 24. The Hang Seng TECH Index lost 2.7% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index fell 1.7%.

Leading the upside was China Mengniu Dairy, gaining 3.1%, while search-engine giant Baidu declined 7.6%.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite fell 1.7% to 3,959.34.

On the other regional exchanges, the Taiwan TWSE declined 3.5%; the Singapore Straits Times Index fell 1.7%, and the Thai Set declined 1.3%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was down 1%. Trading floors in Sydney were closed on holiday.

The MSCI All Country Asia Pacific Index fell 3.2% on the day.

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