Asian shares tumble, led by 4.5% drop in Tokyo following a tech-driven retreat on Wall St

BANGKOK– Stocks in Asia fell on Friday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 index falling nearly 4.7% before regaining some ground.

The declines followed a slide in U.S. stocks after weak data raised concerns the Federal Reserve had missed the opportunity to cut interest rates before economic growth was undermined.

The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo lost 4.6% to 36,367.97 and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong fell 2.1% to 16,950.59.

Share prices also fell in other Asian markets.

Japanese stocks were hit hard after the central bank raised its benchmark interest rate on Wednesday, pushing up the Japanese yen against the US dollar.

A stronger yen tends to hurt the overseas revenues of major manufacturers such as Toyota Motor. It could also affect the arrival of foreign tourists who have flocked to the country to enjoy bargains thanks to the continued weakness of the Japanese currency.

Thursday is the S&The P 500 fell 1.4% after a report showed U.S. manufacturing activity is still contracting. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.2% and the Nasdaq Composite fell 2.3%.