Shares of Asian exporters, particularly technology companies, were hit hard on Friday after the price of oil hit $60 a barrel for the first time, raising fears about company profits. Rising expectations that euro zone interest rates will eventually be cut and further undermine the euro pushed the European single currency to a 10-month low against the dollar and near to a one-year low versus the yen. Tokyo's Nikkei share average lost 0.76 percent. Exporters NEC Corp. and Honda Motor Co. fell 1.8 and 1.5 percent respectively. "If higher oil prices continue for some time, they will certainly be a minus for corporate profits and the Japanese economy as a whole," said Mitsuhiro Nakano, general manager of the investment strategy and research department at Daiwa Securities Co. Ltd. Shares in Australia and Seoul were the biggest losers, dropping around 1 percent. U.S. stocks slid after oil hit its new high. The Dow Jones industrial average sank 1.57 percent to close at 10,421.44 in its biggest percentage drop in about two months.