GLOBAL MARKETS-Asian stocks falter as global growth fears temper tech boost

* MSCI Asia ex-Japan -0.22%; Nikkei -1.87%
* U.S. quarterly GDP posts biggest decline on record
* China, Japan post positive manufacturing data

By Andrew Galbraith and Suzanne Barlyn
July 31 (Reuters) - Asian shares wobbled in a choppy session
on Friday as abysmal economic data from the United States and
rising global COVID-19 cases weighed on sentiment, despite
strong U.S. tech earnings and signs of manufacturing recovery in
China and Japan.
The U.S. dollar was also set for its worst month in a decade
amid expectations the Fed will maintain its ultra-loose monetary
policy for years. U.S. GDP collapsed at a 32.9% annualized rate in the second
quarter, the deepest decline on record, while jobless claims
rose last week, adding to signs the momentum of economic
recovery has slowed. Those figures overshadowed positive manufacturing data from
China and Japan. China's official Purchasing Manager's Index
(PMI) data showed that factory activity grew in July for a fifth
straight month and at a faster pace, defying expectations of a
slowdown, while Japan's industrial output snapped four months of
declines in June. "We are seeing some tentative signs of an improvement in
global trade flows as economies reopen, but the overhang from
recessionary conditions in the developed world and rising
infection rates are kind of a focus for investors at the
moment," said Ryan Felsman, senior economist at CommSec in
Sydney.
After rising in early trade, MSCI's broadest index of Asian
shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS turned lower by late
morning. It was last down 0.22%.
Australian shares .AXJO slid 1.85% amid month-end profit
taking and Seoul's Kospi .KS11 ticked down 0.2%. Japan's
Nikkei .N225 dropped 1.87% as a stronger yen weighed on
exporters. Chinese blue-chips .CSI300 were last down 0.29% in a
choppy session.
But futures resolutely pointed to a positive open on Wall
Street on Friday after Apple AAPL.O , Amazon AMZN.O , Facebook
FB.O and Alphabet GOOGL.O reported quarterly earnings on the
same day for the first time ever, all topping Wall Street
estimates. "All of them punched the lights out with respect to their
earnings numbers," said National Australia Bank strategist Ray
Attrill. "It looks like it should be a pretty risk positive run
into the weekend."
E-mini futures for the S&P 500 ESc1 rose 0.38%.
Deemed "stay-at-home" winners as millions of Americans were
ordered indoors to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, shares of the
largest U.S. technology companies have hit record highs in
recent months as the coronavirus pandemic has thrown the economy
into its steepest contraction since the Great Depression.
U.S. stock markets, oil prices and the dollar slid on
Thursday as the new data underscored the deep economic impact of
the coronavirus and U.S. President Donald Trump raised the
possibility of delaying the November election.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell
225.92 points, or 0.85%, to 26,313.65, the S&P 500 .SPX lost
12.22 points, or 0.38%, to 3,246.22 and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC added 44.87 points, or 0.43%, to 10,587.81.
In the currency market, the dollar slumped 0.39% against the
yen to 104.31 JPY= , while the euro jumped 0.4% to buy $1.1889.
The greenback remains on course for its worst month in a
decade, with the dollar index =USD dropping 0.12% to 92.679.
Crude oil recovered from an overnight slump, with global
benchmark Brent crude LCOc1 rising 0.54% to 43.17 a barrel.
U.S. crude added 0.3% to $40.04 per barrel.
Gold also turned higher, with spot gold XAU= trading 0.48%
higher at $1,968.84 per ounce, just short of record highs.
GOL/
U.S. benchmark 10-year Treasury notes US10YT=RR yielded
0.525%, down from a U.S. close of 0.541% on Thursday. The
two-year yield US2YT=RR touched 0.1133% compared with a U.S.
close of 0.121%.

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