Asian equity indexes fall on rising trade war fears

Asian stock indexes on Friday, following negative closes in Europe and the US on increasing concerns for a potential trade war between world top economies.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 dropped 3.59 percent to its weakest point in nearly five months, with most exporters feeling the pressure.

The Topix was down 2.88 percent, with all its sectors trading in red territory across the board. Materials and financials components led other sectors lower.

The South Korean Kospi index notched down 2.25 percent, with heavyweight tech names such as Samsung Electronics losing 3.01 percent in the session.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell more than three percent, while mainland Shanghai and Shenzhen composites showed similar loses.

Overnight, US President Donald Trump signed a memorandum to implement import tariffs on China, which would affect a worth of $60 billion.

The tariffs are mainly directed to the technology sector and they are meant to penalize China for stealing intellectual property, the Trump administration explained.

On Friday, China issued a list of 128 US products that could face a potential retaliation.

<<< Stock Indexes >>>

Australia ASX S&P -114.20 -1.89% 5,929.00

Shanghai Composite -115.23 -3.53% 3,148.25

Hong Kong Hang Seng -906.32 -2.92% 30,164.73

Nikkei 225 -946.43 -4.38% 20,645.56

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Durable goods orders for February will be out at 12:30 GMT. New home sales for February are expected to be published at 14:00 GMT.

FortFS