The U.S. stock sell-off may spread to Asia; the Nikkei once fell more than 2%, and the Korean won strengthened by 1% after remarks by the Korean finance minister.

The U.S. stock sell-off may spread to Asia; the Nikkei once fell more than 2%, and the Korean won strengthened by 1% after remarks by the Korean finance minister.

Due to the sharp decline in risk assets overnight, Asian stock markets may come under pressure on Friday.

After the positive news of the US government reopening has been digested, the market focus has shifted to economic data and Federal Reserve policy. According to WallstreetCN, hawkish comments from Federal Reserve officials have pushed expectations for a December rate cut below 50%. In addition, Asian investors are waiting for China's housing prices, retail sales, and unemployment data to be released on Friday.

During Friday's early session, major Asian stock markets generally came under pressure. The Nikkei 225 opened down 1.3%, then quickly extended losses to 2%, with tech investment giant SoftBank Group leading the decline, its shares plummeting 9%.

(Nikkei 225 Index once fell more than 2%)

Korea's Kospi index opened with an even bigger drop of 2.6%, highlighting sharply increased risk aversion in the market.

(Kospi opened down 2.6%)

US stock futures showed a slight recovery from their weakness, with S&P 500 index futures rebounding by 0.16%.

In the foreign exchange market, the Korean won experienced sharp fluctuations. Korea's finance minister spoke, expressing concern about rising uncertainty in the currency markets and stating they are prepared to take all available measures to actively stabilize the exchange rate, including discussions with exporters and pension funds on how to respond.

The strong signal of official intervention from Korea had an immediate impact. The won/dollar exchange rate staged a V-shaped reversal, quickly rising after earlier declines, with intraday gains once expanding to nearly 1%.

Cryptocurrencies, which saw a sharp decline overnight, showed a rebound trend during Friday's Asian session, with Bitcoin prices expected to retest $100,000.

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