*

Stocks extend Wall Street selloff

*

Oil prices hit weakest since Dec

*

US data deluge keeps markets on edge

(Updates at 0130 GMT)

By Rae Wee

SINGAPORE, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Asian shares and global

stock futures tumbled on Wednesday while oil prices hit

multi-month lows as a sharp tech selloff on Wall Street and

resurgent worries about U.S. growth drove investors out of risky

assets.

Japan's Nikkei led the slump in Asia, falling more

than 3%, while MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares

outside Japan lost 1.6% in early trade.

September has historically been a bad month for stocks,

though analysts pointed to a confluence of factors behind the

rout, including tepid U.S. manufacturing data.

Wall Street closed sharply lower overnight after the U.S.

returned from a holiday at the start of the week, with AI

darling Nvidia ( NVDA ) tumbling nearly 10% as investors reined

in their enthusiasm about artificial intelligence.

"The air of portfolio de-risking as the U.S. cranked back up

after the Labor Day holiday was seen across all areas within the

capital markets," said Chris Weston, head of research at

Pepperstone.

"Growth concerns were the key theme on the day, with

cyclical-sensitive assets smacked and hedges laid down

aggressively."

U.S. stock futures extended declines on Wednesday, with S&P

500 futures easing 0.5%, while Nasdaq futures shed

0.75%.

EUROSTOXX 50 futures slumped more than 1% and FTSE

futures declined 0.73%.

"(There) was plenty of blame to go around. Nvidia ( NVDA ). Tech.

Soft spots in U.S. data. China gloom," said Vishnu Varathan,

head of macro research for Asia ex-Japan at Mizuho Bank.

Recent data from China pointed to an economy that's still

struggling to mount a solid recovery, raising calls for further

stimulus from Beijing.

Worries over the sluggish outlook in China - the world's

biggest oil importer - have in turn further exacerbated the

decline in oil prices due to expectations of weakening demand.

Brent crude futures bottomed at $73.32 a barrel on

Wednesday while U.S. crude hit a trough of $69.83, both

their lowest levels since December. They had fallen more than 4%

in the previous session.

Elsewhere, stocks in Hong Kong opened lower, in line with

regional peers, with the Hang Seng Index last down 0.8%.

China's CSI300 blue-chip index lost 0.6%.

DATA DUMP

A slew of U.S. economic data is due this week, including

figures on job openings, jobless claims and the closely watched

nonfarm payrolls report out on Friday.

Given the Federal Reserve's labour market focus, Friday's

release could decide whether a rate cut expected this month will

be regular or super-sized.

"Everyone's been cheering on the idea of rate cuts, but the

idea of having a rate cut isn't a great thing because it means

things are worse economically than what might have been the

case," said Tony Sycamore, a market analyst at IG.

Ahead of the releases, moves in currencies and U.S.

Treasuries were less dramatic than those seen in equities,

though safe-haven currencies like the dollar and the yen were

buoyed by safety bids.

The yen was last steady at 145.43 per dollar,

while a rebound in the greenback pushed the euro

further away from a 13-month high. The common currency last

bought $1.1054.

Sterling fell 0.08% to $1.3105.

"I think it looks a little bit treacherous, the week ahead,"

said Sycamore.

The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield eased

a touch and was last at 3.8348%, while the two-year yield

was last at 3.8672%.

In commodities, spot gold rose 0.04% to $2,493.85 an

ounce.