In today’s market report… Technology stocks led Asian markets lower on Friday. It comes after bleak demand outlooks from companies including Samsung Electronics, Nvidia and Symantec.
Top memory chipmaker Samsung Electronics led South Korea's benchmark Kospi lower, after warning of weaker profit margins in coming months.
Regional markets were also wary of U.S. second-quarter GDP numbers due to be released later Friday, after a series of data that have disappointed.
Tokyo's Nikkei fell 1.6%, as a 1.5% drop in industrial output data added to the gloom, with manufacturers expecting weakness to continue.
Nissan Motor's stock fell after it kept its cautious guidance on earnings for the rest of the year, despite posting its best operating profit in two years.
Japan's No. 3 automaker was the first of its major peers to report earnings, with Honda releasing numbers on Friday and Toyota next week.
On the plus side, Sony shares rose to a near two-month high, after the consumer electronics company lifted its full-year profit by 12.5% to $2.1 billion.
The company returned to profit on strong sales for its TVs and PCs, and a turnaround in its mobile and game console units.
In Australia, top investment bank, Macquarie's bleak outlook weighed on financial stocks, while a looming election kept some investors sidelined.
The benchmark index slipped 0.7%
