SINGAPORE - The wild ride for global stock markets continued on Friday morning (June 30) as Asian equities slid following selling in the United States and Europe.

The Straits Times Index fell 0.81 per cent in morning trading to 3,232.13 as at 11am. In Japan, the Nikkei fell below 20,000 for the first time in two weeks, falling 1.09 per cent as the yen rebounded.

A stronger yen often weighs on Japanese stocks.

Friday's worst showing came from Australia's ASX 200, which fell 1.58 per cent after rising on Thursday.

The drop in Asia reversed the previous day's gains and followed from declines on Wall Street.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.78 per cent lower on Thursday, while the S&P 500 fell 0.86 per cent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq slid 1.44 per cent.

The drag came primarily from the tech stock rout, which has been weighing on US markets in recent weeks.

IG market strategies Pan Jingyi said a lookback at sectoral performance in the S&P 500 index for the past month "found mixed movements with financials and healthcare being the key drivers for gains".

"On the flipside, sectors from defensives to IT and consumer goods have weighed upon the index as investors finds little reason to add to the charged up market," she noted.

"I would not be surprised if this vacuum of leads for markets persists until earnings reports arrive mid next month to either validate or undermine the current prices and valuations."