India, April 11 -- Asian markets took a hit early Friday after Wall Street lost steam, giving up much of the momentum from its big rally the day before. Growing jitters over President Donald Trump's trade war sent Japan's Nikkei 225 plunging 5.6%.

The nervous mood spilled over to South Korea and Australia too, where stocks also opened lower.

On Thursday, the S&P 500 tumbled 3.5%, slicing into Wednesday's surge of 9.5% following Donald Trump's decision to pause many of his tariffs worldwide. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1,014 points, or 2.5%, and the Nasdaq composite tumbled 4.3%.

China announced more countermeasures against the United States, and losses for US stocks accelerated after the White House clarified that the Unit...