Asian markets ended down on Friday, with Japanese shares leading regional losses on strengthening yen and tracking Wall Street’s overnight falls as investors’ fears over a US recession surfaced. Data showed that initial jobless claims in the US rose the most since August 2023 to 249,000 for the week ended July 27 and the US ISM manufacturing index came in at 46.8%, worse than expected and a signal of economic contraction. Meanwhile, investors were eyeing on the US payrolls data, due later in the day that could shed some more light on the state of the economy and the Fed's interest rate path. Chinese shares declined on lingering concerns over the country's economic outlook. Moreover, South Korea’s Kospi dropped on deep losses in heavyweight chipmakers.
| Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
| Shanghai Composite | 2,905.34 | -27.05 | -0.93 |
| Hang Seng | 16,945.51 | -359.45 | -2.12 |
| Jakarta Composite | 7,308.12 | -17.87 | -0.24 |
| KLSE Composite | 1,611.05 | -13.20 | -0.81 |
| Nikkei 225 | 35,909.70 | -2,216.63 | -6.17 |
| Straits Times | 3,381.45 | -38.39 | -1.14 |
| KOSPI Composite | 2,676.19 | -101.49 | -3.79 |
| Taiwan Weighted | 21,638.09 | -1,004.01 | -4.64 |
