• On Thursday, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.8%, while Japan’s Nikkei also dropped 1.1%, adding to losses from the first day of the quarter Published July 2, 2026 Updated 20 minutes ago By Reuters SYDNEY: Asian shares skidded on Thursday as investors rotated out of chipmakers following a stellar quarter, while currency and bond markets braced for US jobs data that could gives hints about the risk of interest rate hikes. Oil prices hit new four-month lows, with Brent crude off 0.8% to $71 a barrel, as U.S. President Donald Trump said talks with Iran had gone well in Qatar, and as more oil tankers transited through the Strait of Hormuz. On Thursday, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.8%, while Japan’s Nikkei also dropped 1.1%, adding to losses from the first day of the quarter. South Korea’s KOSPI sank 2.7%, extending a 2% slide from Wednesday. That followed an eye-watering 68% surge in the second quarter on soaring AI-related demand for memory chips. SK Hynix plunged 7.7% and Samsung tumbled ⁠6.2%. That followed a report that Meta Platforms is building a cloud business to sell excess AI computing capacity, which sent the Facebook owner’s shares up 8.8% overnight. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng bucked the trend in Asia with a gain of 1.8%. Foreign investors sold Asian equities at the fastest pace in at least 16 years in the first half of 2026, as the blistering AI-driven rally forced them to trim their biggest winners in South Korea and Taiwan and hunt for lower-priced laggards. Investor attention is on US non-farm payrolls data due on Thursday this month due to a holiday on Friday for Independence Day, which falls on a Sunday this year. Economists polled by REUTERS expect a rise of 110,000 jobs for June, but forecasts range widely from gains of 25,000 to 200,000, suggesting the chance for a surprise is high. The jobless rate is forecast to stay steady at 4.3%. “For the equity traders, there is probably no ⁠single rigid…