Stocks are on course for their longest losing streak in many months, as geopolitical turmoil rattles Wall Street and investors slash their bets on the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates any time soon.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 2.4% to 37,156.54, paring losses in the early trading when it plunged 3.5%. Semiconductor equipment supplier Lasertec was the largest loser, which lost 8.4%. But most other big tech-related shares also dropped. Renesas gave up 6%, Tokyo Electron lost 8.7% and Sony Group Corp. declined 1.8%.

Stocks in the S&P 500’s energy, financials and utilities sectors were all posting sharp gains Friday afternoon, even as the U.S. stock market traded mostly lower. The S&P 500 index, a gauge of U.S. large-cap stocks,