Asia Shares Dip in Shift to Safety

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Asian shares fell on Friday and the dollar firmed as investors took profits on riskier assets after U.S. data raised fears that a global economic recovery could lose momentum.

The dollar <.DXY> edged up 0.2 percent against a basket of major currencies as some investors shifted back to safer assets despite extremely low yields.

Investors were unnerved by a report showing that a record one in seven U.S. mortgages were in foreclosure or at least one payment past due in the third quarter, signaling a recovery in the U.S. housing market will be tepid at best.

"Investors have turned more cautious, and they are awaiting more U.S. data coming out next week," said Hwang Keum-dan, an analyst at Samsung Securities in Seoul, where shares were down 0.2 percent but outperforming most other Asian markets.

Tech shares suffered some of the heaviest losses in Asia after a U.S. brokerage downgrade on the semiconductor industry. The subsequent rout in U.S. tech stocks overnight helped push the S&P 500 index <.SPX> down 1.3 percent, its worst one-day percentage fall in three weeks. <.N>

The tech sector has been one of the leaders in a strong global equities rally that has extended into its ninth month.

Japan's Nikkei index <.N225> fell 1.3 percent and looked set for a fourth week of losses, with electronics giant Sony Corp <6758.T> sliding to a near four-month low on doubts the company's new business strategy could deliver strong profit growth.

The MSCI index of Asia Pacific stocks traded outside Japan <.MIAPJ0000PUS> and the Thomson Reuters index of regional shares <.TRXFLDAXPU> were both down around 1 percent.

In Taiwan, the world's biggest contract chipmaker TSMC <2330.TW>, which sells the bulk of its chips to North America, fell 2.4 percent.

"Unless Christmas sales (of technology products) are very good, we don't think the market can rebound significantly," said Alex Huang, director of Mega International Securities in Taipei.