Asian equities decline ahead of US payroll data as rate anxiety increases

The majority of Asian markets fell on Friday, mirroring Wall Street's overnight losses as hawkish comments from Federal Reserve officials increased concern about potential interest rate reduction in the United States, particularly ahead of important payroll data.

Risk appetite was mostly restrained owing to concerns about the Middle East conflict getting worse, especially because Iran had vowed to attack Israel militarily. A Chinese market holiday also contributed to a decline in regional trade volumes.

Wall Street gave Asian equities a poor lead-in, and on Thursday, U.S. benchmarks dropped more than 1% as Fed policymakers cautioned that persistent inflation may impede any possible rate decreases this year. The markets were also tense due to the expectation of nonfarm payroll data, which is anticipated to influence the Fed's forecast.

Friday saw the worst performance in Asia on the Nikkei 225, which fell 2.5% to a bottom that has been seen for more than two weeks.

Extended profit-taking damaged the Nikkei after it had risen to all-time highs in March. April has seen the index struggle to advance due to growing uncertainty over the nation's monetary policy and inflation trajectory. The Bank of Japan may raise interest rates further in response to persistent inflation.

The Nikkei's largest decliners were export-focused firms, as the yen recovered from previous losses to reach a two-week high. The Japanese government's ongoing threats to intervene in the currency market played a major role in the yen's rebound.

Key Events Today:

• UK Construction PMI at 09:30 GMT
• US Average Hourly Earnings at 13:30 GMT
• Nonfarm Payrolls at 13:30 GMT
• Unemployment Rate at 13:30 GMT

(Sources: investing.com, reuters.com)