Riyadh: Asian stocks fell today, led by losses in the Republic of Korea and Japan, as semiconductor shares came under renewed pressure amid profit-taking following gains in the previous session.

According to Saudi Press Agency, the MSCI Asia Pacific ex-Japan Index declined 0.7%, while Korea's KOSPI Index dropped more than 4% and Japan's Nikkei 225 Index fell 1.2%. Investors are awaiting earnings results from SoftBank Group, as well as the U.S. nonfarm payrolls report due tomorrow, for clues on the interest-rate outlook and its potential impact on investment trends in technology stocks.