A global equity market sell-off deepened on Friday, with Asian markets falling and those in Europe and the US set to extend declines as investors moved into government bonds as a refuge from Donald Trump’s tariff blitz.
Japan’s Topix was down 4.5 per cent and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index retreated 2.2 per cent, while South Korea’s Kospi dropped 1.7 per cent.
“Liberation day turned into liquidation day”, said Prashant Bhayani, chief investment officer for Asia at BNP Paribas Wealth Management.
Government bond yields dropped as investors rotated into haven assets, with the US 10-year Treasury falling below 4 per cent. Yields on 10-year Japanese government bonds dropped 0.16 percentage points to 1.2 per cent.
Futures markets indicated European and US markets were set to open down. Investors will be watching the US non-farm payrolls release, which economists surveyed by Reuters estimate at 135,000 jobs added. Federal Reserve chair Jay Powell will deliver a speech in the late US morning.
The dollar weakened 0.4 per cent while the yen strengthened 0.3 per cent to ¥145.7, its highest level since October.
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