Asian shares follow Wall Street lower as investors pull back

Asian markets skidded Friday and U.S. futures were lower after Wall Street had its worst day since June, as investors’ exuberance faltered after a spate of record highs.

Shares fell across the region Friday, with Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 shedding 1.1%.

There was little going on regionally to alter the market's trajectory after the U.S. benchmark S&P 500 gave up 3.5%, its biggest loss in three months, and the Nasdaq fell 5% as high-flying technology companies took a tumble after months of spectacular gains.

There seemed to be no explicit catalyst for the sell-off, with economic data coming in roughly where the market had expected and no companies issuing foreboding warnings. But the market felt due for a breather, analysts said.

“Altitude sickness?" asked Riki Ogawa of Mizuho Bank. “To be sure, the plunge after overly exuberant rallies of recent was in itself not counter-intuitive; but the precise motivation of, and triggers for, market moves remains an enigma."

There is still plenty of money sloshing through financial systems with the Federal Reserve and many other central banks unleashing massive amounts of cash through bond purchases, while keeping interest rates ultra low.

“While I don’t think its a healthy meltdown, getting rid of some of the short term speculator froth will offer up better levels for the Wall of Money to indulge as we know the Fed is not going anywhere soon," Stephen Innes of AxiCorp said in a commentary.

The Nikkei 225 shed 260.10 points to 23,205.43 while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong lost 1.5% to 24,646.68. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gave up 3.1% to 5,925.50 and the Shanghai Composite index slipped 0.9% to 3,355.37.

Wall Street's unloading of technology shares on Thursday ended with Apple plunging 8%. Amazon lost 4.6% and Facebook...