Asian stocks fell on Friday, following another sell-off on Wall Street overnight, and were on track for the worst month since the COVID-19 pandemic began, amid concerns about a global recession and rising geopolitical risk.
As of 9.43 a.m. Thai time, the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong fell 0.50%. Mainland China’s Shanghai Composite lost 0.32%.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 slipped 1.86%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was 0.91% lower.
The Kospi in South Korea declined 0.50%.
U.S. stocks tumbled in Thursday’s session, with the S&P 500 hitting a fresh low for the year and also reaching a new closing low. The index fell 2.1% to 3,640.47 at the close.The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped by 458.13 points, or 1.54%, to 29,225.61. The Nasdaq Composite, which is heavily weighted toward technology, lowered 2.84% to 10,737.51.
“Geopolitical and inflation risks are not subsiding, and risk assets are taking the strain as expectations of lower growth and higher funding costs continue to permeate,” analysts at ANZ Research wrote in a Friday note.
The Asian index was on track to drop 12.5% for the month, the most since March 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic shook financial markets.
