Shares in Asia-Pacific decline

SINGAPORE, May 6 (CNBC): Shares in Asia-Pacific largely declined on Friday after an overnight drop on Wall Street sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average to its worst day since 2020.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index led losses regionally as it fell 3.81 per cent to close at 20,001.96. In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite slipped 2.16 per cent to end the trading day at 3,001.56 while the Shenzhen Component shed 2.141 per cent to 10,809.88.
"In Asia of course we're very much influenced by what the U.S. Fed does and the U.S. economy but now we face the zero-Covid problem from China," Richard Martin, a business consultant and managing director at IMA Asia, told CNBC's "Street Signs Asia" on Friday.
Data shows China's recent Covid lockdowns are hitting more than just Beijing and Shanghai, where the bulk of new infections have been found.
"A lot of the components and materials come out of China, so in addition to weak demand from China, we're going to have a shortage of components from China which on the supply side into the markets across Asia will stop factories running," Martin said.
Technology stocks in the region sold off, following the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite's nearly 5 per cent drop overnight stateside.
In Japan, shares of conglomerate SoftBank Group dropped 2.27 per cent. South Korea's Kakao slipped 5.28 per cent while industry heavyweight Samsung Electronics declined 2.06 per cent.
South Korea's Kospi dropped 1.23 per cent on the day to 2,644.51. The S&P/ASX 200 in Australia shed 2.16 per cent to close at 7,205.60. Singapore's Straits Times index slipped 1.39 per cent, as of 4:20 p.m. local time.