Asia-Pacific markets see another weak session as tech sell-off deepens

The South Korean index pared losses and was last down 2%; the small-cap Kosdaq was down 2.48%.

Index heavyweights Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix fell 1% and 0.71%, respectively, while Hyundai Motor was 4.81% lower.

Defense heavyweight Hanwha Aerospace was 4.97% down, while LG Energy Solution lost 2.91%.

South Korea’s market, which is heavily weighted in favor of companies in the chip and automotive industries, have seen sharp swings in the past week as sentiment over tech stocks sours.

Elsewhere, Japan’s Nikkei 225 reversed losses to gain 0.34%, while the broad-based Topix was up 0.68%.

Stocks of Japanese pharmaceutical makers also slumped on Friday, after U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled his website offering discounted prescription medicines.

Sumitomo Pharma dropped over 5%, while Takeda Pharmaceutical, Japan’s largest drugmaker, fell 1.75%.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped about 1.26%, paring earlier losses, while mainland China’s CSI 300 was down marginally.

However Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 showed more signs of weakness as the session went on, falling 2.06%.

On the commodities front, spot silver prices reversed their earlier decline, climbing 1.68% after crashing about 13% on Thursday.

Overnight in the U.S., the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 1.20%, while the S&P 500 lost 1.23%, pushing it into negative territory for the year. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite posted the biggest decline, dropping 1.59%.

—CNBC’s Sean Conlon and Sarah Min contributed to this report.