TSMC's shares had been on a roll until US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump accused Taiwan of stealing American chip business and asked the island to 'pay for its defence'

Investors snapped up Japanese stocks after sharp losses in the previous session but uncertainties about the BoJ’s policy path weighed on investor sentiment

Sentiment was hurt as the United States said it was considering taking additional steps against Chinese companies that have been supplying Russia's defence industrial sector

World stocks retreated from record highs as China signalled it would respond to the EU's tariffs on its electric vehicle makers

Losses in Japan and Hong Kong were offset by markets rallying in Taiwan and South Korea — both of which were buoyed by overnight gains on Wall Street and positive tech news.

The halt in the Asian risk rally came as Friday's non-farm payroll data underscored the resilience of the US labour market

China sat out of the global risk rally after a group of Republican lawmakers said battery companies CATL and Gotion should be banned from shipping goods to the US

Shares across Asia were boosted by advances in the euro ahead of the European Central Bank policy meeting, but pared gains amid caution

Modi is still on track to return to power in India for a rare third-term, but will now be reliant on alliance partners to stake a claim to form and keep running the government

"Although stock markets have performed strongly in May, just in the last week it seems very stressed," one analyst said, pointing to investor jitters on inflation expectations

The latest halt in the global risk rally comes on the back of data pointing to lingering inflationary pressures across major economies

The Nikkei index in Tokyo saw a second straight weekly loss, down 3.4% over the past five sessions, as it pulled back from an all-time high of 41,087.75