By P.R. Venkat and Ronnie Harui
Asian equities extended declines as investors continued to unload riskier assets in the wake of President Trump's tariff plans and overnight losses on Wall Street.
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average fell 2.3%, heavily weighed by electronics and auto stocks. South Korea's Kospi, which opened 1.3% lower, has pared some of its losses and was last down 0.2%.
In Southeast Asia, the FTSE Straits Times Index declined 1.4%, while Malaysia's FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI was 0.3% lower.
Markets in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Indonesia are closed Friday.
Investors are concerned that Trump's new tariffs will harm global economic growth and are closely monitoring any retaliatory measures from governments worldwide.
The major U.S. stock indexes fell Thursday by as much as 6%, wiping out $3.2 trillion in market value, their largest such loss since March 2020.
"At the core of the market sell-off is the repricing for higher recession risks, with Trump's aggressive tariff proposals serving as the key catalyst," said IG market strategist Yeap Jun Rong.
Given the chaos of Trump's tariff blitz, the DBS Chief Investment Office said in a note that investors should favor equity markets with room for fiscal stimulus, and favor companies with the capacity to shift production back to the U.S.
Oil prices declined, following OPEC+'s decision to make a larger output hike in May, while demand has been weighed by U.S. tariffs and likely retaliatory measures from targeted countries. Front-month WTI crude oil futures and front-month Brent futures were both down 0.6%.
In currency markets, most Asian currencies consolidated against the U.S. dollar ahead of the release of U.S. March employment data and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's speech later today.
Write to P.R. Venkat at venkat.pr@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 03, 2025 21:53 ET (01:53 GMT)
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