Asia-Pacific Markets Follow Wall Street's Downward Trend

Markets across the Asia-Pacific region continued their decline on Friday, mirroring the sharp losses observed on Wall Street. This downturn comes in the wake of United States President Donald Trump's announcement of reciprocal tariffs on Wednesday, a move that has sent shockwaves through global markets.

Market Performances Across the Region

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 experienced a significant drop, losing 1.63% by 4:18 am CET. Meanwhile, South Korea's Kospi Composite showed little change a minute later. Japan's Nikkei 225 was hit the hardest, plummeting by 2.47% at 4:20 am CET. Notably, markets in Hong Kong and China remained closed in observance of the Qingming Festival.

Currency Movements

In currency markets, the dollar saw a slight increase against the yen, trading 0.14% higher at ¥146.2730 by 4:20 am CET.