Traders were keeping tabs on China after Beijing said its housing minister would hold a briefing with central bank and finance ministry officials on Thursday, raising hopes for more help for the property sector.
All three main indexes on Wall Street then sank on Tuesday -- the Dow and S&P 500 dropping from record highs -- as tech firms took a hit from Dutch tech giant ASML's decision to cut its 2025 guidance and forecast a slump in sales bookings.
The news revived concerns that the blockbuster surge in the tech sector, which has been fuelled by demand for all things linked to artificial intelligence, may have gone too far.
Chip titan and market darling Nvidia sank more than four percent, AMD more than five percent and Intel more than three percent.
"We believe Intel is at the heart of ASML's weaker outlook, as it recently postponed the opening of its Magdeburg fab, and more delays and issues could keep coming," warned Morningstar equity analyst Javier Correonero.
The losses were also aided by reports that US President Joe Biden's administration was considering a cap on exports of advanced AI chips to some countries.
The selling in New York filtered through to Asia, where chipmakers were well down. Tokyo Electron led the retreat by losing more than nine percent in Tokyo, while Taipei-listed TSMC shed more than two percent.
Japan's Nikkei 225 shed almost two percent, while there were also losses in Sydney, Seoul, Taipei, Manila, Mumbai, Jakarta and Wellington.
Paris and Frankfurt were also down, though Singapore and Bangkok rose.
Hong Kong ended lower again even as developers were boosted after the city's chief executive unveiled some measures to boost its real estate industry, including an easing of mortgage rules, and also cut a tax on liquor to help the services sector.
Shares in the city and Shanghai got a little help after China announced Thursday's news conference with housing minister Ni Hong and members of the People's Bank of China, the Finance Ministry and the National Financial Regulatory Administration.
Beijing said the briefing would focus on the property sector, which has been battered for years by a chronic debt crisis that has sent several big-name developers to the wall.
Much-anticipated news conferences last Tuesday and Saturday fell well short of expectations and left investors wanting, with many fearing the Chinese government was not doing enough to reignite the economy.
That pricked the euphoria at the end of last month when China began unveiling a raft of measures that traders hoped would help the country turn the corner.
"To truly spark a rally, Beijing must show that its monetary stimulus is more than just window dressing, with real economic growth and a multiplier effect kicking in," said Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management.
"Without that concrete evidence, investor sentiment -- even with support from government-backed financial institutions -- will likely stay on edge."
London gained as data showed UK inflation hit a three-year low in September.
Oil prices edged up but made few inroads into the steep losses of Monday and Tuesday that were caused by a report that Israel had pledged not to strike Iran's energy infrastructure in retaliation for a missile barrage this month.
Adding to pressure on the commodity were worries over demand from top importer China, a report from the International Energy Agency saying global markets remain "adequately" supplied and relatively modest output losses from hurricanes in the US Gulf Coast.
- Key figures around 0810 GMT -
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.8 percent at 39,180.30 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.2 percent at 20,286.85 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.1 percent at 3,202.95 (close)
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.8 percent at 8,311.57
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0883 from $1.0892 on Tuesday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3009 from $1.3066
Dollar/yen: UP at 149.45 yen from 149.22 yen
Euro/pound: UP at 83.66 pence from 83.33 pence
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.5 percent at $70.94 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.4 percent at $74.58 per barrel
New York - Dow: DOWN 0.8 percent at 42,740.42 (close)
dan/pbt
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