Morning Brief: Asian markets slide, Bitcoin tumbles amid global risk-off mood

Asian equities, cryptocurrencies, and precious metals came under renewed pressure on Friday as investors pulled back from risk assets, rattled by technology-sector weakness, credit concerns in Southeast Asia, and fresh signs of slowing momentum in the US economy.

Markets across the region reflected a cautious tone, while volatility spilled into commodities and digital assets, underscoring the fragile state of global risk appetite.

Asian markets retreat on tech weakness and Indonesia downgrade

South Korean equities extended losses as investors continued to retreat from technology stocks.

The KOSPI index fell 1.6%, dragging the MSCI gauge of emerging Asian equities down 0.39%.

A broader index of Asian equities excluding Japan slid nearly 2% at one point.

In Seoul, chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix dropped 1.2% and 0.2%, respectively, pushing the regional information technology index about 2.4% lower.

Markets were unsettled earlier in the week after AI firm Anthropic unveiled a new legal tool for its Claude chatbot, stoking fears of disruption across the information technology and software services sector.

In Southeast Asia, Indonesia’s Jakarta Composite Index dropped more than 2.8% in early trade after Moody’s downgraded the country’s credit rating outlook.

The rupiah weakened to 16,878 per US dollar, its lowest level since January 22.

Investor confidence has been hit by concerns over policy uncertainty under President Prabowo Subianto, a widening fiscal deficit, and central bank independence.

Foreign investors pulled $1 billion from Indonesian equities in 2025, with outflows accelerating after MSCI warned of a potential downgrade to frontier-market status and Moody’s outlook cut.

“In the near-term, onshore financial markets are likely to witness knee-jerk weakness due to the outlook change,” DBS analysts said in a report.

TrumpRx website launches with focus on cash-pay drug discounts

In the US, President Donald Trump announced the launch of TrumpRx, a direct-to-consumer website aimed at lowering prescription drug costs.

Trump said millions of Americans would save money through the platform, though it remains unclear how broadly those savings will apply, especially for insured patients.

“You’re going to save a fortune and this is also so good for overall health care,” Trump said at the launch event.

The platform does not sell drugs directly but redirects consumers to drugmakers’ own direct-to-consumer sites or provides discount coupons.

At launch, TrumpRx features medications from AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly, EMD Serono, Novo Nordisk, and Pfizer.

Analysts note that cash-pay discounts may benefit uninsured or underinsured patients most, while insured consumers may find better pricing through existing coverage.

Silver and gold prices slump amid dollar strength

Precious metals extended losses, with silver heading for its second straight weekly decline as a stronger dollar and profit-taking weighed on prices.

The renewed weakness underscored the technical damage from last week’s historic sell-off.

Gold plunged $187, or 3.78%, to close at $4,776.40 per ounce, falling below key support levels and moving averages.

Silver dropped nearly 6% to $72.10 per ounce, after a volatile session that saw prices briefly fall more than 10%.

Silver has fallen almost 16% this week, following an 18% drop last week, its largest weekly decline since 2011.

Market turbulence intensified as Wall Street extended losses for a third session, while the US dollar headed for its best weekly performance since November.

Bitcoin slides as risk appetite fades

Bitcoin tumbled more than 10% toward $64,000, its weakest level since late 2024, extending a brutal week for cryptocurrencies.

The selloff reversed gains built after Trump’s election win, when he signaled a more supportive stance toward crypto.

The broader crypto market also slid sharply, with Ether falling below $1,900 and total market capitalization dropping to about $2.29 trillion.

CoinGecko data showed the crypto market has lost roughly $2 trillion since its October peak.

Analysts cited ETF outflows, weakening liquidity, and fading risk appetite as key drivers.

Deutsche Bank noted that US spot Bitcoin ETFs saw outflows of more than $3 billion in January, adding to selling pressure as global markets remain on edge.

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