This is CNBC's live blog covering Asia-Pacific markets.

Asia-Pacific markets plunged Monday ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump's fresh round of tariffs expected later in the week, with Japan's Nikkei 225 entering correction territory.

The benchmark Nikkei index plunged 4.05% to end the day at 35,617.56, losing nearly 12% from its December high. The broader Topix index lost 3.57% to 2,658.73.

Over in South Korea, the Kospi index closed 3% lower at 2,481.12 while the small-cap Kosdaq declined 3.01% to 672.85, with the markets regulator allowing short-selling Monday after the longest ban on the activity in the country's history.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 ended the day 1.74% lower at 7,843.40, ahead of the Reserve Bank of Australia's policy meeting on Tuesday. The central bank is widely expected to stand pat on interest rates at 4.1% as the country heads to the polls on May 3.

Mainland China's CSI 300 lost 0.71% to close at 3,887.31 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was down 1.09% as of its final hour of trade.

China's NBS Manufacturing PMI for March came in at 50.5, in line with predictions by economists polled by Reuters and slightly higher than the 50.2 reading in the previous month.

Indian markets were closed for a public holiday.

U.S. futures slipped as investors await clarity on Trump's tariff plans.

Stocks had sold off sharply last Friday, amid growing uncertainty on U.S. trade policy and a bleak inflation outlook.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 715.80 points, or 1.69%, at 41,583.90. The S&P 500 shed 1.97% to 5,580.94, ending the week down for the fifth time in the last six weeks. The Nasdaq Composite plunged 2.7% to settle at 17,322.99.

Shares of several technology giants dropped, putting pressure on the broader market. Google-parent Alphabet lost 4.9%, while Meta and Amazon each shed 4.3%.

— CNBC's Pia Singh and Sarah Min contributed to this report.

Japan's Nikkei 225 enters correction, hits six-month low as Trump tariffs fuel stock sell-off in Asia

Japan's Nikkei 225 share average tumbled to its lowest point in more than six months on Monday.

The benchmark plunged 4.05% to end the day at 35,617.56, its lowest since September.

The worst-performing stocks on Monday include Renesas Electronics, which plunged 10.97%, Socionext Inc which lost 8.66% and Disco Corp which was down 8.35%.

The broader Topix index fell 3.57% to 2,658.73.

— Amala Balakrishner

CK Hutchison shares drop over 4% as company in hot waters over Panama port deal

Shares of CK Hutchison fell as much as 4.7% Monday, as it draws criticism from Beijing over its Port deal which reportedly could be delayed.

The deal, which involves CK Hutchison selling its ports near the Panama Canal to a group led by BlackRock, has been delayed, but not called off, Reuters reported.

CK Hutchison has faced an increasing barrage of criticism from China on its decision to sell most of its $22.8 billion ports business to the U.S.-led group.

The sale is expected to garner the firm more than $19 billion in cash.

— Amala Balakrishner, Reuters

Hang Seng Tech Index enters correction phase, plunges nearly 3%

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Tech Index dropped 2.82% to enter correction territory amid a broad sell-off in Asian markets.

The worst performers were Hua Hong Semiconductor which plunged 6.15%, Alibaba Health Information Technology which fell 5.01% and Bilibili which lost 4.75%.

The index is still up 20.27% since the start of the year.

The Hang Seng Tech Index ETF shows the index's moves:

— Amala Balakrishner

Thai officials assure 'normal' stock market, payment services, after powerful earthquake rocks nation

Securities and Exchange Commission of Thailand said Monday the country's stock market was functioning normally, following a powerful earthquake that shook neighboring Myanmar and toppled a skyscraper under construction in Bangkok.

The stock market resumed trading Monday after it was suspended Friday afternoon due to the quake. The benchmark SET index fell over 1%.

Operations of Thailand's payment infrastructure and all mobile banking applications have been "uninterrupted," said Bank of Thailand Deputy Governor Roong Mallikamas, adding that financial institutions have been instructed to extend special debt relief for disaster-affected borrowers.

The 7.7-magnitude quake rattled much of Southeast Asia on Friday, leaving around 1,700 people dead, 3,400 injured and over 300 missing in the hardest-hit Myanmar, as of Sunday.

— Anniek Bao

Spot gold crosses $3,100 threshold to hit fresh record high

Spot gold crossed the $3,100 threshold to hit a fresh record high of $3,106.34 per ounce at 11 a.m. Singapore time on Monday.

The price of the precious metal has been on the rise as investors flock to the safe haven asset amid concerns around U.S. President Donald Trump's fresh tariffs.

— Amala Balakrishner

SoftBank shares fall over 5%, extending declines

Shares of SoftBank Group fell as much as 5.51% Monday as Japan's Nikkei 225 slumped on tariff worries amid a wider drop in Asia markets.

Shares in the investment holding company have been trading in negative territory for two straight sessions and were also weighed down by a broad-based sell-off in tech stocks.

— Amala Balakrishner

China’s factory activity expands at fastest pace in a year, official survey shows

China's manufacturing activity in March expanded at its fastest pace in one year, signaling Beijing's stimulus measures were helping prop up an economic recovery, while looming U.S. tariffs threaten to thwart growth.

The official purchasing managers' index came in at 50.5 in March, according to the National Bureau of Statistics data released Monday, accelerating from the prior month and in line with Reuters poll estimates.

Read the full story, here.

— Anniek Bao

Japan's February factory output growth tops expectations; retail sales miss estimates

Japan's factory output rose 2.5% in February, reversing a decline in the previous month, data from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry showed on Monday.

This was higher than the 2.3% rise estimated by Reuters, with output driven by production machinery and electronics parts.

Separately, data released Monday showed a 1.4% rise in Japan's retail sales in February from a year earlier.

The reading was below less than the 2% rise forecast by Reuters and the 4.4% increase seen in the January.

— Amala Balakrishner

Renesas Electronics shares extend slide, drop more than 9%

Shares of Renesas Electronics plunged as much as 9.38% in early trade on Monday, leading losses in Japan's Nikkei 225 benchmark.

The semiconductor manufacturing company has been trading in negative territory for two straight sessions, following comments from CEO Hidetoshi Shibata.

He reportedly said that layoffs and a pay freeze were necessary responses to cope with the prolonged slump in the global semiconductor market.

— Amala Balakrishner

South Korea retail sales rise to six-month high in February

South Korea's retail sales rose 1.5% on a seasonally adjusted basis in February, government data released Monday showed.

That is it's highest reading since August 2024 and follows a 0.7% fall in the previous month.

— Amala Balakrishner

Japan's Nikkei 225 plunges over 4% as Trump tariffs fuel risk-off mood

Japanese stocks slumped Monday as worries over U.S. President Donald Trump's fresh round of tariffs fueled a wider sell-off in Asia markets.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 was down 4.14% as of 9.22 a.m. local time.

Losses in the Nikkei, which fell below 36,000 for then first time since March 11, were led by the energy, utilities and healthcare sectors, data from LSEG shows.

Among the worst performing stocks was Advantest Corp which plunged 5.51%, Tokyo Electron which lost 5.2% and Fujikura which fell 5.17%.

Meanwhile, the broad-based Topix index was down 3.29%.

— Amala Balakrishner

South Korea's factory output tops expectations with 7% year on year jump in February

South Korea's industrial production jumped 7% year on year in February, faster than the 2% expected by economists polled by Reuters, after falling 4.7% in the previous month.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the country's factory output rose 1% in February from the month earlier, data released by Statistics Korea on Monday showed. This follows a 2.8% expansion in January and an increase of 0.8% expected by Reuters poll.

— Amala Balakrishner