China trade, JGB yields, tariffs

This comes ahead of China’s combined trade data for January and February. China’s customs agency usually releases data for the first two months as a combined figure, to account for the Lunar New Year holidays.

Economists polled by Reuters are expecting exports growth to slow to 5% year-on-year, while imports growth is forecast to hold steady at 1%.

The moves in Asia mirrored losses on Wall Street after U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff concessions failed to calm investors.

Traders were also worried by economic data from the U.S., which raised alarm that Trump’s policies could hinder the U.S. economy. The Federal Reserve’s Beige Book and the Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing reading both indicated fear of rising input costs because of the tariffs.

Data from Challenger, Gray & Christmas released Thursday showed layoff announcements soared to 2020 highs, which the outplacement firm found was driven by Trump and billionaire Elon Musk’s efforts to shrink the federal government’s workforce.

South Korea’s Kospi was 0.30% lower, with the small-cap Kosdaq down 0.25% in choppy trade.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 traded down 1.43%.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index started the day 0.31% lower, while mainland China’s CSI 300 index was down 0.22%.

Overnight in the U.S., all three major indexes fell, with the Nasdaq Composite falling 2.61% to end in correction territory, which is when an index falls 10% from a recent high.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 0.99%, while the S&P 500 tumbled 1.78%.

— CNBC’s Alex Harring and Pia Singh contributed to this report.