Manila, Nov 21 (AP) World stocks on Friday tracked Wall Street's sharp drop in skittish trading, with major benchmarks erasing the previous day's gains.

Worries persist about a bubble in artificial intelligence-related shares. Better-than-expected US jobs data has also raised the likelihood that the Federal Reserve will hold off on an interest rate cut in December, disappointing investors who have been counting on rate cuts to fuel more gains.

The future for the S&P 500 was up 0.2 per cent while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged 0.3 per cent higher.

In early European trading, Germany's DAX declined 0.9 per cent to 23,063.05, while Britain's FTSE 100 dropped 0.5 per cent to 9,484.29. In Paris, the CAC 40 shed 0.6 per cent to 7,935.43.

Other big recent winners also lost ground. Bitcoin dropped 4.5 per cent to USD 82,500, down from nearly USD 125,000 last month.

In Asian trading, Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 2.4 per cent to 48,625.88 as the government approved a 21.3 trillion yen (USD 135 billion) stimulus package that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi promised as part of efforts to revive the sluggish economy. However, the plans for higher government spending that would delay progress toward trimming down the national debt have put the yen and Japanese government bonds under pressure.

The yield on the 30-year government bond has been touching record levels on heavy selling, hitting 3.37 per cent on Friday.

Meanwhile, data released Friday showed the country's core inflation rate excluding volatile food prices rose to 3.0 per cent in October from 2.9 per cent in September.

Japan reported Friday that its exports to the rest of the world rose in October, while those to the US fell. Higher shipments to elsewhere in Asia helped offset the drop in exports to the U.S due to President Donald Trump's higher tariffs.

In the stock market, selling of tech shares dominated, with computer chip test equipment maker Advantest sinking 12.1 per cent, while chip maker Tokyo Electron lost 7.1 per cent.

South Korea's KOSPI tumbled 3.8 per cent to 3,853.26, reversing Thursday's gains. Samsung Electronics sank 5.8 per cent, while SK Hynix plunged 8.8 per cent.

In Chinese markets, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index skidded 2.4 per cent to 25,220.02 while the Shanghai Composite index slid nearly 2.5 per cent to 3,834.89, with pressure also coming from escalating friction between China and Japan over Taiwan.

Taiwan's Taiex shed 3.6 per cent, with market heavyweight TSMC, the world's biggest contract maker of semiconductors, falling 4.8 per cent.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 1.6 per cent to 8,416.50. While India's BSE Sensex declined 0.5 per cent.

“What began as a textbook 'Nvidia bounce' flipped into one of the most violent intraday reversals since the April dump, and Asia — ever the obedient understudy — marched directly into the same plunge tank on the open," Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.

On Thursday, jarring swings rocked Wall Street, and US stocks erased a big morning gain to drop as the market remains skittish following weeks of doubts and erratic moves.

The S&P 500 erased early gains to fall 1.6 per cent to 6,538.76, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.8 per cent to 45,752.26. The Nasdaq composite sank 2.2 per cent to 22,078.05.

Nvidia initially appeared to tamp down the worries about a bubble for AI stocks after reporting a big profit for the summer, along with a forecast for coming revenue that easily cleared analysts' expectations. By delivering strong profits and indicating more are coming, Nvidia can justify its stock's price gains and make it look less expensive.

In other dealings early Friday, US benchmark crude oil slid USD 1.17 to USD 57.82 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, lost USD 1.11 to USD 62.27 per barrel.

The US dollar fell to 156.65 Japanese yen from 157.46 yen. The euro rose to USD 1.1521 from USD 1.1529. (AP) SKS SKS