SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Global stock markets were lower
Friday as investors marked down technology stocks and a drop in U.S.
jobless claims failed to boost investor confidence.
European
markets opened weaker, with Britain’s FTSE 100 losing 1 percent to
6,575.83. Germany’s DAX fell 1.2 percent to 9,338.48 and France’s CAC-40
shed 1 percent to 4,369.26.
Wall Street looked set for lackluster trading. Dow and S&P 500 futures were both little changed.

The
falls in Europe were foreshadowed by a weak performance in Asian
markets. Investors knocked down Internet and technology companies after
the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite had its worst day since 2011.
The
jitters over the high valuations of technology companies in the U.S. and
then in Asia overshadowed other upbeat economic reports. The Labor
Department said Thursday that the number of people seeking U.S.
unemployment benefits dropped to the lowest level in almost seven years,
suggesting improvement in the U.S. labor market.
Next week’s
first quarter economic growth data from China will be the key indicator
investors are looking for as it could give hints about further stimulus
announcements from Beijing, said Ric Spooner, chief market analyst at
CMC Markets in a commentary.
Earlier in Asia, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225
lost 2.4 percent to close at 13,960.05 and South Korea’s Kospi slipped
0.6 percent to 1,997.44. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng finished 0.8 percent
lower at 23,003.64 and China’s Shanghai Composite shed 0.2 percent to
2,130.54.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dipped 1 percent to
5,428.60. Stocks in Taiwan and Southeast Asia also lost ground with
Indonesia being the only bright spot.
Internet and related stocks took the biggest hit from the sell-off as investors thought they were
over-valued.
Chinese
Internet giant Tencent plunged 6.8 percent and Japanese mobile service
operator SoftBank Corp. sank 3.8 percent. South Korean Internet company
Naver Corp., which owns the Line messenger app, fell 3.1 percent.
In
energy markets, benchmark U.S. crude for May delivery was down 28 cents
at $103.12 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile
Exchange. The contract fell 20 cents to $103.40 on Thursday.
In currencies, the euro strengthened to $1.3889 from $1.3886 late Thursday. The dollar rose to 101.72 yen
from 101.42 yen.
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