Asian stocks fell on Friday in a downbeat end to the week as deepening geopolitical worries and fears over U.S. tariffs and their impact on the global economy curbed investors appetite for risk, keeping safe-haven gold near record highs.

The sombre mood looked set to continue in Europe. Pan-European STOXX 50 futures and Germany's DAX futures fell 0.5%, while futures for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq inched lower.

Policymakers across the globe struck a cautious note in a week filled with central bank meetings as uncertainty in global economics and politics grew. The U.S. Federal Reserve, the Bank Of Japan and the Bank of England all held rates steady.

Central bankers highlighted the unsettled outlook due largely to rising trade tensions triggered by the U.S under President Donald Trump. Trump intends to impose new reciprocal tariff rates on April 2, ushering in fresh wave of uncertainty.

Reports of Israeli airstrikes on Gaza and a huge blast from a Ukrainian drone attack on a Russian military airfield were a reminder of rising geopolitical tensions pushing investors towards safe haven assets.

"With the bar for near-term rate cuts still high, markets have shifted focus back to growth concerns and tariff risks which will continue to fuel volatility," said Charu Chanana, Saxo's chief investment strategist.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.9%, with stocks in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Indonesia dropping sharply.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index slid 2%, poised for its second straight week in the red as investors turned cautious following a surge in tech stocks and the index hitting a three-year high on Tuesday. The Hang Seng is still up 18% for the year, the best performing major stock market in the world.

Japan's Topix index touched an eight-month high led by banking stocks as stronger-than-expected inflation data fuelled expectations for further interest rate hikes by the Bank of Japan.

Investors will now focus on the details of the Trump administration's April 2 tariffs as markets become increasingly nervous about the impact of tit-for-tat tariffs on inflation and economic growth.

George Boubouras, head of research at K2 Asset Management, said the unease was causing more market volatility.

"The sharp change in future expectations is effectively leading to the amplified volatility events," he said.

The growing uncertainty and the Fed reiterating that it was in no rush to cut rates lent support to the dollar. The dollar index measure against a basket of six counterparts was steady at 104.09, after climbing 0.36% on Thursday.

The index fell to a five-month low this week as earlier hopes for growth-friendly policies under Trump have given way to anxiety that the global trade war he started could trigger a U.S. recession.

The yen was weaker on the day at 149.50 per dollar. Still, the yen is up 5% this year on expectations that the BOJ will hike rates again in 2025.

Data showed Japan's core inflation hit 3.0% in February and an index stripping away the effect of fuel rose at the fastest pace in nearly a year, a sign of broadening price pressure that reinforces market expectations of further hikes.

"Although Governor Ueda made much of the risks surrounding U.S. trade policy on Wednesday, we think he’s just hedging his bets - considering it a risk factor," said Min Joo Kang, senior economist at ING.

"Therefore, if trade tensions don't escalate more than the market currently expects, they won't affect the BOJ's rate hike plans."

In commodities, oil prices rose on Friday, poised for their strongest weekly performance since January.

Brent crude futures climbed 0.36%, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 0.4%. Both were set for 2% gains for the week.

Gold eased 0.46% to $3,030 as investors booked profits after the yellow metal climbed to a record high in the previous session. Gold was on course for the third straight week of gains, supported by safe-haven demand.