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Hong Kong - Asia's markets fell on Friday following hefty plunges on Wall Street as US technology stocks suffered another sell-off, while China released data showing inflation picked up in March but was still below forecasts.
Tokyo led the decline, plunging 2.38% to 13 960.05 - its lowest close in six months, while Seoul lost 0.56% to 1 997.44 and Sydney shed 0.95% to 5 428.6.
Shanghai slid 0.18% to 2 130.54 and Hong Kong fell 0.79% to 23 003.64 on worries over the world's second biggest economy.
Asian markets struggled after the Nasdaq suffered another slump on Thursday on lingering fears that high-flying technology stocks like Facebook and Netflix may be overvalued.
The tech-weighed index plunged 3.10%, the biggest single-day percentage point drop since November 2011. The loss wiped out a two-day rally that picked up on Wednesday when the minutes of the latest Federal Reserve policy meeting suggested no support for an early rise in interest rates.
But Thursday's rout spread to other stocks, with New York's two other main indexes also hit. The Dow shed 1.62% and the S&P 500 was down 2.09%.
Michael James, managing director of equity trading at Wedbush Securities, said investors were reducing equity exposure across the board and added: "Lower prices were bringing out more sellers."
He warned: "The market is on very shaky legs."
In China the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Friday inflation jumped to 2.4% last month from 2.0% in February but short of the 2.5% estimated by economists.
While the figure will soothe fears of possible deflation in the world's number two economy it is still well below the government's annual target of 3.5%.
The government also said the producer price index fell 2.3% in March, accelerating from February's 2.0% slip.
"The figures indicated that the domestic economy continued to slow down, so the market will likely keep consolidating," Zheshang Securities analyst Zhang Yanbing told AFP.
Oil prices fell. New York's main contract West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for May delivery eased 23 cents to $103.17 a barrel in afternoon trade while Brent North Sea crude dipped 19c to $107.27 for its May contract.
Gold fetched $1 316.40 an ounce at 10:00 from $1 322.70 late on Thursday.
