Asian markets settled mostly down on Friday ahead of key US employment data due later in the day. Market sentiments weakened further by tracking Wall Street’s fall overnight and with worries that US President Donald Trump's trade tariffs will hurt domestic as well as global growth. Japan's Nikkei share average fell as technology shares tracked Wall Street declines, while Japanese currency yen extended gains for a third day against the dollar amid heightened uncertainty over US trade policies and hawkish signals from the BoJ. Chinese shares declined after data showed China's exports growth eased more than expected at the start of the year and imports logged an unexpected sharp decline amid mounting trade tensions.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 3,372.55 | -8.55 | -0.25 |
Hang Seng | 24,231.30 | -138.41 | -0.57 |
Jakarta Composite | 6,636.00 | 18.15 | 0.27 |
KLSE Composite | 1,547.27 | -11.64 | -0.75 |
Nikkei 225 | 36,887.17 | -817.76 | -2.22 |
Straits Times | 3,914.48 | -2.58 | -0.07 |
KOSPI Composite | 2,563.48 | -12.68 | -0.49 |
Taiwan Weighted | 22,576.07 | -139.36 | -0.62 |
