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By Bloomberg

Emerging-market stocks headed for a two-week low before data on U.S. jobless claims as technology companies extended declines. South Korea’s won slid to the weakest level in three years.

Hermes Microvision Inc. tumbled 9.9 percent as Taiwan’s Taiex Index fell to an October low. OCI Co., a maker of polysilicon used in solar panels, had a record plunge in Seoul after earnings trailed estimates. South Korea’s won slid 0.9 percent versus the dollar and the Thai baht slumped for a ninth day. The Shanghai Composite Index rose 2 percent amid bets China’s spate of support measures have stabilized equities.

The MSCI Emerging Markets Index fell 0.4 percent to 927.33 at 1:48 p.m. in Hong Kong. The Nasdaq Composite Index slid the most in two weeks Wednesday after disappointing results from Apple Inc. and Microsoft Corp. fueled a selloff in technology stocks. The U.S. reports on jobless claims Thursday after better-than-forecast housing data on Wednesday bolstered the Federal Reserve’s case for tightening.

“Technology stocks are under pressure from a number of lower-than-expected earnings and weak guidance from U.S. companies,” Mixo Das, a strategist at Nomura Holdings Inc. in Singapore, said by e-mail. “Investors’ main focus will be on second-quarter earnings, before shifting in the third quarter to the Fed rate.”

Six weeks of international turmoil from Greece to China have had zero impact on economists’ outlook for the first Federal Reserve rate rise since 2006. The odds for a September liftoff remain at 50 percent, exactly where they were in June, a Bloomberg News survey showed.

Technology Stocks

The developing-nations gauge has fallen 3 percent this year and trades at 11.5 times projected 12-month earnings, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The MSCI World Index has risen 3.5 percent and is valued at a multiple of 16.5.

Eight out of 10 industry groups in the emerging-markets index fell, led by technology shares. Hermes had a record plunge. The book-to-bill ratio for North American semiconductor equipment fell to 0.98 in June from 0.99 in May. The Taiex sank 1.4 percent as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. and Largan Precision Co. tumbled at least 4.5 percent.

OCI sank 18 percent, the biggest decline in South Korea’s Kospi index. Hyundai Motor Co. jumped 6.1 percent in Seoul after saying it will pay out its interim dividend to increase shareholder returns. The Kospi rose 0.2 percent.

The won sank to its lowest level since June 2012 after a report showed economic expansion missed estimates as a virus outbreak damped consumer spending and exports slumped.

The Shanghai Composite gained for a sixth day, poised for its longest winning streak since May. Trading interest has waned during the market’s recent rebound, with the benchmark index posting daily price moves of less than 1 percent this week, volatility falling to one-month lows and trading volumes slumping 15 percent from the 30-day average.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng China Enterprises Index added 1.2 percent. Vietnam’s VN Index rose 1.2 percent. Thai baht retreated 0.6 percent, set for the weakest level since May 2009. Malaysia’s ringgit lost 0.4 percent while India’s rupee and Indonesia’s rupiah slipped 0.2 percent.