Equities endured on Wednesday the most tumultuous day since early August after a weak read on US factory activity combined with a collapse in tech firms to cause a rout across the board.

The sight of investors running to the hills sparked memories of the brief but tumultuous sell-off at the start of August that was partly fuelled by a big miss on US jobs creation.

The Federal Reserve is widely expected to cut interest rates at its next meeting this month but close attention is being paid to Friday's non-farm payrolls (NFP) figures, which are seen as playing a major role in how big the central bank will go.

With the much-hyped earnings report from bellwether chip titan Nvidia now in the rearview mirror, traders are once again able to concentrate on economic matters and the Federal Reserve's plans for interest rate cuts.

While the report beat expectations in many areas, it took the wind out of the sails for traders, who had been enjoying a run-up on the prospect of US interest rates coming down from next month.

While a Federal Reserve interest rate cut next month is baked into prices, traders are also keenly awaiting next week's crucial non-farm payrolls figures, which are seen as key to determining how big the central bank goes.

A string of supportive data in recent weeks and comments from top Federal Reserve officials have helped push equities higher in August after starting the month in turmoil on fears of a US recession.

Traders were also keeping an eye on developments in the Middle East after a flare-up in hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah that fanned fears of an escalation in the region.

The yen also advanced after the head of Japan's central bank told lawmakers that officials could hike interest rates again if the economy and inflation perform as expected, weeks after a surprise increase caused turmoil on markets.

Tokyo, Hong Kong, Sydney, Singapore, Seoul, Mumbai, Bangkok and Manila rose Thursday, though Shanghai, Wellington, Jakarta and Taipei slipped.

With few sparks to drive buying, markets took their cue from Wall Street, where the main indexes slipped after an eight-day advance, with focus on a speech Friday by central bank boss Jerome Powell at the Jackson Hole symposium in Wyoming.

Investors appear to have gotten over the turmoil that beset trading floors this month as a string of data suggested that worries of a US recession had been overdone.

The dollar rose more than one percent against the yen after the retail sales report was released.

After a painful collapse fuelled by a big miss on US jobs creation, equities managed to bounce back over the following days and ended Friday on a healthy note.

Equities across the planet have seen big fluctuations since a closely watched gauge of the US labour market came in well below forecasts and fanned fears the Federal Reserve may have waited too long to cut interest rates.

Tokyo, Sydney, Seoul, Wellington, Mumbai, Taipei and Jakarta were in the red, along with London, Paris and Frankfurt.

After Monday's collapse that saw trillions of dollars wiped off valuations globally, traders returned to pick up bargains on Tuesday, with Japan's Nikkei bouncing back from a 12.4 percent loss to enjoy a gain of more than 10 percent.

Tokyo, which suffered a record loss Monday, led the gains, soaring more than 10 percent as traders bought beaten-down stocks caught up in a catastrophic day for markets.

A much-anticipated report Friday showed the US economy added just 114,000 jobs last month, well down from June and far fewer than expected, while the jobless rate rose to the highest level since October 2021.

US chip titan Intel became the latest bearer of bad news, warning it would slash more than 15 percent of its workforce -- about 18,000 jobs -- as it streamlines operations.

Investors are steeling themselves for more reports this week from other titans, including Microsoft, Facebook-parent Meta, Apple and Amazon.

The upbeat mood comes at the start of a busy week for traders, with the central banks of the United States and Japan making policy decisions, a key US jobs report due on Friday and megacaps releasing their earnings.

Tokyo's Nikkei led the retreat in equities, diving more than three percent, with a stronger yen adding to the downward pressure on exporters.

The prospect of a more welcoming borrowing environment has heavily benefited tech firms, particularly as they have invested massively in AI, seeing it as the next big money-spinner.

Traders struggled to extend gains on Wall Street, where the Dow chalked up its first record since May, while the dollar rose with Treasury yields on speculation that another Trump tariff battle with China and likely tax cuts could push inflation higher.

Investors struggled to extend the rally enjoyed on Wall Street last week, where all three main indexes ended on a positive note despite a forecast-topping read on US wholesale prices.

A smaller-than-expected read on the June consumer price index ramped up bets on the Federal Reserve lowering borrowing costs in September, and possibly again before January.

The advances also saw Hong Kong and Shanghai push higher after struggling in recent weeks over worries about the Chinese economy, with investors awaiting a key Communist Party meeting next week.

While Europe's main stock markets were dragged down Tuesday by political uncertainty in France, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq in the United States edged to all-time highs.

The US central bank has held interest rates at the highest levels in more than two decades to bring inflation down to its long-term two percent target without doing too much damage to either the labour market or the broader economy.