Asian equities were primed to track US stocks by notching a second day of declines as signs of economic weakness overwhelmed the market’s optimism surrounding rate cuts.

Equity futures for Japan, Australia and Hong Kong dropped. The S&P 500 fell 0.8% Thursday, extending a drop from the prior session and on track for its largest weekly fall since April. The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.5%, while the Russell 2000 benchmark of US small companies fell 1.9%, pulling back from a rally earlier in the week as investors rotated from large technology stocks. US equity futures edged higher early Friday.