Asian stock markets opened the week with declines, influenced by Wall Street's worst session of the year due to disappointing U.S. economic data. The downturn was exacerbated by concerns over U.S. tariffs and geopolitical tensions, with the absence of Japanese participants due to a public holiday contributing to thinner trading conditions. The Nikkei 225 in Japan closed at a three-month low, dropping 1.39% to 38,237.79, driven by losses in technology shares and a stronger yen against the dollar at ¥149.81. The ASX 200 in Australia fell 0.68% to 8,251.90, while the Kospi in South Korea declined by 0.57% to 2,630.29 after the Bank of Korea cut interest rates to 2.75% from 3%. In China, the Shanghai Composite Index decreased by 0.80% to 3,346.04, and the Shenzhen Composite saw a similar decline of 0.82% to 2,074.31. The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong dropped 1.32%, affected by a sell-off in technology stocks, particularly after U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans to impose tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico and further restrict Chinese investments in strategic sectors. The Hang Seng Tech Index fell 1.6% after an initial drop of 4.3%, with Alibaba and Baidu shares declining 3.8% and 3.9% respectively. Chinese technology stocks experienced volatility, with Alibaba shares dropping over 15% in response to Trump's memo aimed at limiting Chinese investment in the U.S. The Hang Seng Tech Index initially slumped but later trimmed losses as mainland investors bought into Hong Kong stocks. Alibaba's American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) fell 10% in the U.S., while in Hong Kong, the decline was less than 3%. The broader market sentiment was also affected by concerns over U.S. semiconductor restrictions and the upcoming Nvidia earnings report.