SYDNEY, July 25 (Reuters) - Asian shares were hammered

on Thursday as a slump in global tech stocks sent investors

fleeing into less risky assets, including short-dated bonds, the

yen and Swiss franc.

Chinese stocks were given little support after the country's

central bank sprang a surprise cut in longer-term rates, adding

to a recent rush of stimulus measures.

The sell-off in stocks saw investors ramp up bets on rate

cuts globally, with futures implying a 100% chance of a Federal

Reserve easing in September. A spike in market volatility

fuelled a vicious squeeze on carry trades which saw the dollar

sink another 0.6% to 152.85 yen on Thursday.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside

Japan lost 0.7%, while Japan's Nikkei

tumbled 2.9% and South Korea's KOSPI dropped 2%.

Taiwan's markets were closed for a second day due to a

typhoon.

Chinese blue-chips pared earlier losses to be

down 0.1%, although the Shanghai Composite index was

still off 0.3%, hitting five-month lows.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 0.6%, finding

little support from Beijing's latest easing step.

On Wall Street, the Nasdaq lost almost 4% - the

worst one-day fall since 2022 - as lacklustre Alphabet and Tesla

earnings undermined investor confidence in the already lofty

valuations of the "Magnificent Seven" stocks.

That added to recent market volatility, with Wall Street's

fear gauge jumping to a three-month high. Investors

looked for the safety of cash and super-liquid short term debt,

with U.S. two-year yields hitting their lowest in almost six

months on Wednesday.

In early Asian trade, Nasdaq futures rebounded

0.4% and S&P 500 stock futures rose 0.3%.

"Traders have played outright defence, as the saturated and

well-owned tech position continues to be unwound," said Chris

Weston, head of research at Pepperstone.

"We can also add an ongoing unease around China's growth

trajectory, very poor PMIs in Europe and a bearish opinion piece

from ex-New York Fed member Bill Dudley, and investors and

traders derisked and de-grossed portfolios."

The other big mover in Asia was the safe-haven yen, up 0.6%

to the strongest in 2-1/2 months. It surged 1.1% overnight, with

the upward momentum intact ahead of the Bank of Japan's meeting

next week where policymakers will debate whether or not to raise

interest rates.

The Swiss franc also rose 0.7% overnight.

Short-dated bonds rallied overnight, supported by comments

from Bill Dudley, a former president at the New York Fed that

the central bank should cut rates, preferably at its policy

meeting next week.

The yield on two-year Treasuries fell 4 basis

points overnight and was last steady at 4.4121%.

Markets are fully pricing in a quarter-point rate cut from

the Fed in September, with even some risk for a 50 basis point

cut. For all of 2024, a total easing of 65 basis points has been

priced in.

"The rate cut expectations are getting very elevated the

same way as they were last year," said Andrew Lilley, chief

rates strategist at Barreyjoey in Sydney.

"My worry is that the market is getting ahead of the

economic data because we have seen previously that these

short-term dips in inflation haven't been sustained."

Indeed, advance U.S. gross domestic product data is due

later on Thursday and is forecast to show growth picking up to

an annualised 2% in the second quarter. The closely watched

Atlanta Fed GDPNow indicator points to growth of 2.6%,

suggesting some risk to the upside.

In commodity markets, gold fell 0.9% to $2,375.92 an ounce

.

Oil prices ticked lower and held near six-week lows on

worries about a slowing Chinese economy crimping demand.

Brent futures fell 0.4% to $81.81 a barrel, while

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude also dropped

0.3% to $77.33.