On Monday, most markets in the Asia-Pacific region declined, following Wall Street’s steepest drop of the year last Friday, as U.S. economic indicators suggested a slowdown and persistent inflation concerns.

The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong decreased by 0.96%, after reaching a nearly three-year peak in the prior session.

Meanwhile, mainland China’s CSI300 index dropped by 0.18% amid volatile trading conditions.

In South Korea, the Kospi index fell 0.65%, while the smaller Kosdaq index experienced a 0.71% decline.

Indian stock markets remained in the red, with the Nifty 50 index falling by 0.98% and the BSE Sensex experiencing a decrease of 0.97%.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 concluded the day with a modest gain of 0.14%, reaching 8,308.20, ending a streak of five consecutive sessions of losses.

Japanese markets remained closed due to a public holiday.

In Singapore, core inflation—which excludes accommodation and private transport costs—rose by 0.8% year-on-year in January, according to government statistics. This marks the lowest level since June 2021 and falls short of the 1.5% predicted in a Reuters poll.

Headline inflation for the same period stood at 1.2% year-on-year, the lowest since February 2021, and lower than the 2.15% projected by Reuters.

In the United States, all three major indexes closed lower on Friday, as new data deepened investors’ worries about the economy. Concerns also grew in light of potential policy changes from U.S. President Donald Trump, who has recently announced several tariffs and other initiatives within the first month of his administration.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 748.63 points, or 1.69%, wrapping up at 43,428.02. This decline, the largest this year, resulted in a two-day total loss of approximately 1,200 points. The S&P 500 dropped by 1.71%, closing at 6,013.13, marking its second consecutive negative day after reaching a record high on Wednesday. The Nasdaq Composite experienced a 2.2% loss, settling at 19,524.01.

— This report was contributed by CNBC’s Brian Evans and Lisa Kailai Han.