Shares fell in Asia on Friday after a crush of dismal data about the economy sent markets lower overnight in a meek ending to a historic, juggernaut month for stocks.
Most regional markets were closed for May Day holidays. But Japan's Nikkei 225 index slipped 2.8% to 19,619.35 while the S&P/ASX 200 in Australia gave up 4.2% to 5,289.40.
The future for the S&P 500 lost 1.7% while that for the Dow industrials gave up 1.5%. The S&P 500 fell 0.9% on Thursday after reports showed millions more U.S.
workers filed for unemployment benefits last week and the European economy crumpled to its worst performance on record last quarter, among other lowlights.