The European Central Bank cut interest rates again on Thursday but warned of "phenomenal uncertainty" including the risk that trade wars and more defence spending could fuel inflation, raising the prospect of a pause in its policy easing next month.

Japan’s economy likely expanded in the fourth quarter at the same upbeat pace as initially reported, a Reuters poll showed, reinforcing the central bank’s case for a further interest rate hike in the near term.

China’s imports unexpectedly shrank over the January-February period, while exports lost momentum, as escalating tariff pressures from the United States cast a shadow over the recovery in the world’s second-largest economy.

Layoffs announced by U.S.-employers jumped to levels not seen since the last two recessions amid mass federal government job cuts, canceled contracts and fears of trade wars, offering the clearest sign yet of the toll taken on the labor market by the policies of President Donald Trump’s administration.

 Most Asian stocks fell on Friday tracking Wall Street’s overnight slump, as investor uncertainty deepened over U.S. trade policies after President Donald Trump postponed 25% tariffs on most Mexican and Canadian goods just two days after imposing them.

Oil prices moved little in Asian trade on Friday, hovering near their weakest levels for the year, and were also headed for steep weekly losses as fears of more U.S. trade tariffs battered markets.