Asian shares eased from record highs on Friday as hefty price hikes from Apple showed the downside of the boom in chip demand.

In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng Index opened down 124 points, or 0.54 percent, at 22,952, before retreating further to dip below 22,600 at one point late morning.

The China enterprises index was down 33 points, or 0.44 percent, at 7,575 while the tech index was 34 points, or 0.78 percent, lower at 4,371.

Up north, the Shanghai Composite Index opened down 21 points, or 0.52 percent, at 4,098.

The Shenzhen Component Index was down 132 points, or 0.81 percent, at 16,211 while the ChiNext Index was 52 points, or 1.2 percent, lower at 4,319.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei opened down 780 points, or 1.14 percent, at 71,587 before the losses gathered momentum to put the 225-strong benchmark 2,722 points, or 3.76 percent, lower at 69,643.

In Seoul, the Kospi plunged 438 points, or 4.91 percent, to 8,491 after opening for the day 117 points, or 1.31 percent, down at 8,813.

Nasdaq futures declined 0.6 percent in Asia. The Nasdaq swung lower overnight after Apple slid 6.1 percent after announcing price hikes for iPads and MacBooks to counter surging memory and storage chip costs, wiping about US$250 billion off its market value.

Microsoft is raising prices for its Xbox gaming consoles by up to US$150 worldwide.

That tempered investor enthusiasm about a blowout earnings report from chipmaker Micron this week, whose shares surged almost 16 percent overnight to a record high.

"Micron tells us where the profits are. Apple tells us where the inflation is," said Nigel Green, CEO at deVere Group, a financial advisory firm.

"The race to build AI infrastructure has become so intense that demand for advanced memory is outstripping supply.

"Apple's decision to raise prices is an early warning that inflation is finding a new route into the economy." (Reuters & Xinhua)



Edited by Raymond Yeung