Asian markets plummet

Japan’s benchmark indexes plummeted up to 5% on Friday, leading declines across Asia-Pacific markets following a Wall Street sell-off fueled by recession concerns. The Nikkei, extending Thursday’s 2.62% drop, hit its lowest level since February before paring losses to trade down 4.56%. The Topix index also trimmed its losses, ending 4.47% lower.

Major Japanese stocks were hit hard, with Softbank Group falling over 5%, trading giants Mitsui and Marubeni down more than 8% and 6%, respectively, and semiconductor firm Tokyo Electron dropping over 9%. Meanwhile, Japanese government bond yields declined, with the 10-year JGB yield falling below 1%.

In South Korea, the Kospi slid 3.19%, primarily due to weakness in banking stocks, while the Kosdaq fell 3.46%. However, K-pop stocks outperformed, led by Hybe, which surged after unveiling a new business strategy. Elsewhere, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 2%, and China’s CSI 300 saw a more modest decline of 0.66%.