Japanese stocks fell more than 5% as Asia-Pacific markets worried about US-China trade tensions.

Asia-Pacific markets opened lower on Friday morning after Wall Street continued its overnight sell-off amid signs of escalating trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies, CNBC reported. Investors expressed concern as the global economy faces new uncertainties. 

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index fell 2.28%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost 5.46%, while the Topix traded 5.05% lower. 

In South Korea, the Kospi index fell 1.55% while the small-cap Kosdaq index fell 0.11%.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index futures were at 20,601, slightly lower than the HSI’s closing level of 20,681.78.

“The extension does not reduce uncertainty,” ANZ analysts wrote in a note. “There is scepticism about the outcome of the trade talks and that will continue to weigh on investment and the growth outlook.”

The White House said tariffs on some Chinese goods are now as high as 145% due to the 20% tax currently imposed on companies that manufacture fentanyl.

In response to the latest developments, all three major US stock indexes fell. The S&P 500 sold off, falling 3.46% to close at 5,268.05, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 4.31% to close at 16,387.31. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1,014.79 points, or 2.5%, to close at 39,593.66.

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US stock futures edged higher as investors looked to end a volatile week. 

S&P 500 futures rose 0.3%, while Nasdaq 100 futures rose about 0.1%. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 28 points, or nearly 0.1%. 

Meanwhile, gold prices hit a new record high, surpassing the $3,200 mark for the first time. Specifically, the price of gold rose to $3,226/ounce as investors flocked to safe-haven assets.

“Persistent tariffs and policy uncertainty continue to raise inflation risks, further increasing demand for gold as the ultimate safe-haven asset,” said Paul Wong, market strategist at Sprott Asset Management.

Wong added that he believes the current economic environment will continue to support rising gold prices.

Bitcoin fell nearly 4% to $79,158.62, according to Coin Metrics. Ether fell 8% and Solana’s SOL token fell more than 7%. Coinbase fell 6%, while Bitcoin Proxy Strategy lost about 8%.

Bitcoin’s resilience after the market turmoil has surprised many, CNBC quoted some investors as saying. At $79,000, bitcoin is hovering just below the $80,000 floor it has held for most of this year.

“BTC remains closely tied to daily market swings and overall sentiment, but its ability to hold up in the face of recent volatility has been impressive,” Read Harvey, an analyst at Wolfe Research, said in a note.