On Friday (October 2), Asia-Pacific equities collectively came under pressure, with South Korean and Japanese stock markets both falling. The Nikkei 225 Index and the Topix Index both dropped 1%, while South Korea's KOSPI Index edged down 0.1%. Hong Kong stocks opened significantly lower and continued to decline, with both the Hang Seng Index and the Hang Seng Tech Index falling over 2%, as major tech stocks collectively dropped. The market is awaiting the US non-farm payroll data, due to be released on Friday, for new clues on the Federal Reserve's policy path. Following comments from Federal Reserve Vice Chair Philip Jefferson that policymakers should allow more time to assess before deciding whether further rate hikes are needed, market bets on a Fed rate hike in October have significantly fallen to approximately 27%.