Asian markets settled down on Friday tracking Wall Street’s fall overnight on trade war jitters, while investors were awaiting cues from the release of the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge later in the day and the US reciprocal tariffs set to take effect on April 2. Japanese shares declined on concerns that US President Donald Trump's tariffs could hit domestic production and auto sector jobs. Meanwhile, data showed Tokyo's inflation quickened to 2.9% in March from 2.8% in February, keeping the Bank of Japan on track for further interest rate hikes. Seoul shares declined sharply ahead of a meeting of top trade officials from South Korea, Japan and China this weekend to discuss economic cooperation amid increasing trade pressure from the United States.
| Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
| Shanghai Composite | 3,351.31 | -22.44 | -0.67 |
| Hang Seng | 23,426.60 | -152.20 | -0.65 |
| Jakarta Composite | -- | -- | -- |
| KLSE Composite | 1,513.65 | -22.08 | -1.44 |
| Nikkei 225 | 37,120.33 | -679.64 | -1.83 |
| Straits Times | 3,972.43 | -9.14 | -0.23 |
| KOSPI Composite | 2,557.98 | -49.17 | -1.92 |
| Taiwan Weighted | 21,602.89 | -348.87 | -1.61 |
