Asian stock markets are trading mostly lower on Friday, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, as U.S. President Donald Trump announced a new round of tariffs ranging from 25 to 100 percent on upholstered furniture, kitchen cabinets, heavy trucks and branded drugs starting October 1. Asian markets ended mixed on Thursday.
Renewed uncertainty about the outlook for interest rates also weighed on the markets following the release of some largely upbeat U.S. economic data.
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Market Analysis
May 08, 2026 15:50 ET Manufacturing and services sector survey results and labor market data from main economies were the highlight on the economics news front this week. Factory orders and jobs report dominated the news flow in the U.S. Similarly, industrial production data from German garnered attention in Europe. In Asia, purchasing managers’ survey results from China and the central bank decision from Australia were in focus.