Stock market today: Asian shares slip following technology selloff on Wall Street

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares fell Thursday after heavy selling of big-name tech stocks pushed benchmarks lower on Wall Street.

Stocks fell in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Seoul and Sydney but rose in Shanghai. U.S. futures were lower. Oil prices retreated.

The declines came despite a sharp upward revision in Japan’s estimated economic growth rate for the January-March quarter, to 2.7%. That was above what analysts had expected.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 sank 0.9% to 31,641.27. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.3% to 7,099.70. South Korea’s Kospi slipped 0.2% to 2,610.85.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng edged less than 0.1% lower to 19,242.26. The Shanghai Composite gained 0.4% to 3,211.44.

Taiwan's Taiex lost 1.1%, while India's Sensex gave up 0.2%.

On Wednesday, U.S. stocks drifted to a mixed close as declines for Microsoft and other tech stocks overshadowed gains for much of the rest of the market. It’s a reversal from much of this year, as excitement about artificial intelligence and hopes for an end to interest rate hikes have buoyed the tech sector.

The Japanese economy has been recovering since restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic were lifted. The nation has seen a return of tourists, as well as other economic activity.

The focus is now on when Japan’s central bank may move away from the easy monetary policy it's stuck to for years. In the past year, the U.S. Federal Reserve and the world's other central banks have been raising interest rates. Japan's benchmark rate is minus 0.1%.

“While a higher growth reading may provide some room to consider a policy exit from the Bank of Japan, the central bank’s stance could remain unmoved for now, with recent comments from the Governor Kazuo Ueda pointing to more wait-and-see,” Yeap Jun Rong, a market analyst at IG said in a...