Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed on Friday as investors reacted to Japan’s inflation hitting a two-year high and weighed the potential impact of renewed tariff threats from US President Donald Trump.

Australia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate is set to rise 4.1% in January from 4% the month before, estimates from a Reuters’ poll shows.

Consumer inflation in China increased for the first time since August 2024, on the back of higher spending in the lead up to the Lunar New Year

Investors will be keeping an eye on the Japanese yen, which strengthened to a more than two-month high of 150.52 per U.S. dollar on Thursday.

Short positions on all Asian currencies were at multi-month lows on Thursday, as analysts shrugged off fears around the potential of an extended global trade war and factored in a boost in appetite towards risk-sensitive assets.

South Korea’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate hit 2.9% in January, easing from its three-year high of 3.7% in the month before.

Asia-Pacific markets traded mostly lower on Thursday after a quiet day on Wall Street. Trump tarriffs worries continue to rule the market sentiment. Japan (NKY:IND) fell 1.48% to 38587, extending losses from the previous day as concerns over US President Donald Trump’s escalating tariff threats weighed on market sentiment.

Asia-Pacific markets fell Thursday, as investors weighed U.S. President Donald Trump's proposed tariffs on autos, chips and pharmaceutical imports as well as the Federal Reserve potentially keeping rates higher for longer.

Asia-Pacific markets fell on Thursday as investors reacted to US President Donald Trump’s proposal to impose 25% tariffs on auto, semiconductor, and pharmaceutical imports. While Trump indicated that the duties could take effect as early as April 2,