Japanese and South Korean stocks largely reversed a strong rebound seen in the prior session, and headed back towards lows seen in March

Asian stocks dropped on Thursday, reversing course after a strong start to April. South Korea’s KOSPI was the worst performer after logging strong gains in the past session, while Japanese shares also clocked deep losses.

South Korea’s KOSPI was the worst performer in Asia, losing 3.7 per cent, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 and TOPIX indexes dropped 2 per cent and 1.2 per cent, respectively.

Japanese and South Korean stocks largely reversed a strong rebound seen in the prior session, and headed back towards lows seen in March.

The two had headlined a rebound in Asian markets on Wednesday following bruising losses in March.

Broader Asian markets declined on Thursday, reversing course after a strong rebound in the prior session.

China’s Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 and Shanghai Composite indexes declined 0.7 per cent and 0.5 per cent, respectively, while renewed losses in tech dragged the Hang Seng down 1 per cent.

Australia’s ASX 200 declined 1.1 per cent, showing little reaction to stronger-than-expected trade balance data for February, which showed an outsized jump in exports.

Singapore’s Straits Times index dropped 0.7 per cent, while futures for India’s Nifty 50 index slipped 1.6 per cent.

Oil prices climbed as much as 5 per cent after Trump’s comments, as markets saw little relief from ongoing disruptions in energy markets. Hormuz is a key source of oil and gas shipments for economies of several Asian countries.

Rising oil prices are also expected to factor into higher inflation over the coming months– a trend that could elicit a more hawkish stance from some central banks.