The leading Asian stock exchanges started the week's last trading day with heavy falls in a situation where investors are preparing themselves for the new US tariffs that are planned to take effect next week.
In Tokyo, the important Nikkei 225 index had lost 2.4 percent by lunchtime, while the broader Topix index fell by 2.5.
It was also gloomy in Hong Kong, where the Hang Seng index shrank by 0.9 percent.
Nor could any optimism be discerned in the composite indexes in Shanghai and Shenzhen, as the two fell by 0.7 each.
