Asian shares slump after Wall Street falls

Asian share markets were broadly lower on Thursday after Wall Street slumped on a heavy selling of technology and internet stocks.

Japan's benchmark fell by an unusually wide margin of 3.9 per cent and China's main index lost 4.3 per cent. Markets in Hong Kong, South Korea, Australia and Southeast Asia recorded similar declines.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 gave up 3.9 per cent to 22,591.10 and the Shanghai Composite lost 4.3 per cent to 2,607.44. The Kospi in South Korea fell 3.6 per cent to 2,148.97.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 slipped 2.4 per cent to 5,906.00. Stocks plunged in Taiwan and fell across Southeast Asia.

US stocks slumped on Wednesday as concerns over rising interest rates and trade tensions caused a sell-off in technology and internet stocks.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average suffered its worst loss in eight months, falling 3.1 per cent to 25,598.74. The S&P 500 index sank 3.3 per cent to 2,785.68.

The Nasdaq composite was 4.1 per cent lower at 7,422.05. It has fallen 7.5 per cent in just five days. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks shed 2.9 per cent, to 1,575.41.

Apple and Amazon, the two most valuable companies in the S&P 500, each had their worst day in 2½ years. Apple slipped by 4.6 per cent while Amazon lost 6.2 per cent.

Amazon has soared 50 per cent this year, but its stock has fallen 14 per cent from its all-time high in early September.

The dollar slipped to 112.17 Japanese yen from 112.27 yen late Wednesday. The euro rose to $1.1566 from $1.1523.

Oil futures fell. US crude gave up $1.27 to $71.90 a barrel. The contract settled at $73.17 in New York. Brent crude, the international standard, dropped $1.58 to $81.51 a barrel.