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US: The three major U.S. stock indexes fell more than 1% each and the S&P 500 had its biggest daily percentage drop since Feb. 13 on Thursday as Federal Reserve officials took a cautious approach in comments on the outlook for interest rate cuts, and investors braced for Friday's U.S. monthly jobs report.

Asia: Asian markets opened lower on Friday following declines on Wall Street, with investors closely watching US jobs data due later in the day. A sharp reversal on Wall Street on Thursday, triggered by remarks from a US Fed official suggesting no rate cuts this year, is dampening sentiment across Asia. India: On Thursday, the domestic equity indices snapped a twoday losing run and ended higher ahead of the RBI monetary policy decision. The Sensex gained 350.81 points to close at 74,227.63, while the Nifty 50 settled 80.00 points, or 0.36%, higher at 22,514.65. Market is expected to open gap down and likely to witness profit booking during the day.

Global Economy: Japanese household spending fell 0.5% in February from a year earlier, down for a 12th straight month but better than the median market forecast for a 3.0% decline. When adjusted for the leap year effect of having one more calendar day on Feb. 29 compared to regular years, household spending fell 2.7% in February year-on-year, according to the government's estimate of the data. On a seasonally adjusted, month-on-month basis, spending increased 1.4%, also better than an estimated 0.5% gain.

Australia’s trade balance fell more than expected to a fivemonth low in February, as exports- particularly those of Australia's key iron ore products- fell substantially during the month. Australia’s trade balance shrank to a surplus of A$7.28 billion ($4.79 billion). The figure was weaker than expectations of A$10.5 billion, and shrank substantially from the A$11.03 billion seen in January. The country’s trade balance hit its weakest level since September.

Commodities: Gold prices hit a pause on Friday after scaling to historic highs in the previous session on expectations of lower U.S. interest rates this year, while traders await further cues from a key jobs report due later in the day. Oil prices extended gains on Thursday, settling up more than $1 as geopolitical tensions and output cuts outweighed caution about U.S. Federal Reserve rate cuts.

Currency: The U.S. dollar held steady against peer currencies on Friday after rebounding from a two-week low, as traders braced for a key jobs report due later in the day and grew cautious over tensions in the Middle East.

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