(Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks fell after US equities dropped and government bonds rallied against the backdrop of weaker-than-expected economic data that supported forecasts for recession.

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Benchmarks declined in Japan, South Korea while Australian shares were little changed Thursday. US stock futures fell after the S&P 500 retreated 0.3% Wednesday as selling pressure clustered in vulnerable corners of the market. The Nasdaq 100 dropped 1%, eroding a stellar first quarter in which the tech-heavy index rose by fifth.

Hong Kong and mainland China stocks will resume trading after the market was closed Wednesday for a holiday. The Golden Dragon index of US-listed Chinese shares fell 2.7%, suggesting a downdraft in prices when the market opens.

Haven assets retained their strength, with two-year and 10-year Treasuries little changed and yields near their lows for the year. Government bonds rose in Australia and New Zealand, with moves downward in yields confined to about five basis points.

“It’s going to be a rocky few quarters for global equities,” John Vail, chief global strategist for Nikko Asset Management, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. “We don’t see a recession in the States this year and that will surprise some investors on the positive side.”

An index of the dollar and the yen extended advances from Wednesday. Gold was steady near a 13-month high.

The flight to safety reflected signs of a slowing US economy ahead of crucial data to be released later Thursday and on Friday.

The Institute for Supply Management’s index fell to a three-month low of 51.2, below consensus estimates. Private payrolls data from ADP also underwhelmed relative to expectations. The data precede Friday’s US payrolls report, which is forecast to show employers added about a quarter of a million jobs last month and the unemployment rate held at a historically low level.

“ADP private employment tally was much weaker than expected, and with other high-frequency labor market metrics, suggests deteriorating labor-market growth,” said Stan Shipley at Evercore ISI. “Whisper fears suggest a tepid jobs report on Friday.”

Key events this week:

• US initial jobless claims, Thursday

• St. Louis Fed President James Bullard speaks, Thursday

• US unemployment, nonfarm payrolls, Friday

• Good Friday. US stock markets closed, bond markets close for part of the day

Some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• S&P 500 futures fell 0.2% as of 10:06 a.m. Tokyo time. The S&P 500 fell 0.3%

• Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.3%. The Nasdaq 100 fell 1%

• Japan’s Topix fell 0.8%

• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was little changed

• Euro Stoxx 50 futures were little changed

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.1%

• The euro fell 0.1% to $1.0889

• The Japanese yen was little changed at 131.28 per dollar

• The offshore yuan was little changed at 6.8870 per dollar

Cryptocurrencies

• Bitcoin fell 0.5% to $28,007.75

• Ether fell 0.4% to $1,899.01

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 3.31%

• Australia’s 10-year yield declined five basis points to 3.22%

Commodities

• West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.6% to $80.10 a barrel

• Spot gold fell 0.3% to $2,014.55 an ounce

This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.

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