Asia-Pacific markets traded lower on Friday, mirroring Wall Street’s losses overnight as investor sentiment remained cautious amid escalating tariff concerns from United States President Donald Trump.
By 10:35 am AEDT (11:35 pm GMT), Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 edged down 0.1%, Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined 1.6% while South Korea’s Kospi 200 dropped 1.4%.
Among economic releases, the Bank of Japan’s summary of opinions noted: "Japan's economy has recovered moderately, although some weakness has been seen in part.
"It is likely to keep growing at a pace above its potential growth rate, as a virtuous cycle from income to spending gradually intensifies."
Overnight, U.S. markets closed lower as trade concerns continued to weigh on equities. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.4%, the S&P 500 fell 0.3%, and the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.5%.
In commodities, Brent crude rose 0.4% on Friday, reaching a three-week high of US$73.34 per barrel. Meanwhile, gold surged 1.2% to a fresh all-time high of US$3,056.61 per ounce.
Despite the broader regional downturn, Chinese equities posted gains. The Shanghai Composite rose 0.2% to 3,373.7, while the CSI 300 advanced 0.3% to 3,932.4.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index added 0.4% to 23,578.8, and India’s BSE Sensex climbed 0.4% to 77,606.4.
European markets closed lower, with the FTSE 100 falling 0.3% to 8,666.1, Germany’s DAX slipping 0.7% to 22,678.7, and France’s CAC 40 declining 0.5% to 7,990.1.
