[MARKET ANALYSIS] Asia-Pac stocks are mostly lower following the tech rout and flight-to quality stateside

APAC Stocks: Negative

• Asia-Pac stocks are mostly negative following the weak lead from Wall St, where a deepening of the tech rout had spurred a flight-to-quality, while geopolitical concerns linger following reports that the US and Israel have drawn up plans for renewed strikes on Iran, which could be implemented following the US midterm election.

ASX 200: -0.3%

• Index is dragged lower by weakness in mining, materials, resources and tech stocks, although the downside is stemmed by some resilience in consumer discretionary, financials, real estate and utilities, while preliminary PMI data was uninspiring, with all main figures in contraction territory.

Nikkei 225: -1.5%

• Retreated beneath the 62,000 level with notable weakness in tech and mining stocks, while the latest inflation data from Japan mostly matched estimates and showed an acceleration from the previous with headline and core readings back above the 2% price target.

KOSPI -2.3%

• Underperformed as the tech sell-off rolled over into Asia and with SK Hynix also not helped after it pulled the plug on plans to list its Solidigm IPO on the Nasdaq.

Hang Seng & Shanghai Comp: Hang Seng +0.2% / Shanghai Comp -1.8%

• Chinese markets are mixed after the Hong Kong benchmark rebounded from an early dip with the help of resilience in some of China's top EV makers, while the mainland conforms to the mostly downbeat mood.

US Equity Futures: Rangebound

• Price action is lacklustre following the recent tech sell-off.

European Equity Futures Flat

• Indicate an uneventful cash market open with Euro Stoxx 50 futures unchanged overnight after finishing with losses of 1.9% on Thursday.

Overnight wraps of this kind, where a US-led tech rout transmits into Asia, tend to follow a familiar sequence: the deepest losses concentrate in the markets with the heaviest semiconductor weighting, which is the established reason the KOSPI and Nikkei typically underperform the ASX and Hang Seng on these sessions. The case distinction worth drawing is between a pure multiple-compression move in tech, which historically bleeds out within sessions absent fresh catalysts, and one compounded by a geopolitical premium, since reported US-Israel planning on Iran adds a crude and gold bid that changes the cross-asset character of the tape. Japan's inflation prints back above target keep the policy-normalisation question live for the yen and JGBs, a recurring source of two-way risk on risk-off days. The idiosyncratic item, a pulled listing for SK Hynix's unit, is the sort of supply-side event that has tended to matter for the single name and its peer set rather than the index. The follow-ons are the European cash open after a sizeable prior loss, whether US futures hold the range, and any confirmation or denial on the Iran reporting.