Asian stocks were mixed on the last trading day of the week, taking cues from Wall Street’s overnight performance as uncertainty lingered over escalating trade tensions between China and the U.S.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.44 percent, with insurers and mining stocks leading overall declines. Semiconductor-related plays were also down, with Tokyo Electron dropping 3.34 percent. Despite the overall move lower, the oil and coal products subindex held onto gains.
Elsewhere, the Kospi pulled back by 0.72 percent as major technology names recorded declines in early trade. Samsung Electronics fell 3.52 percent and SK Hynix declined 3.59 percent.
The S&P/ASX 200 gave up early gains to trade lower by 0.13 percent. The energy and utilities led losses, losing 1.41 percent and 1.13 percent, respectively, while the heavily weighted financials sector recorded slight gains.
In its monetary policy statement, the Reserve Bank of Australia said growth was likely to come in above 3 percent in 2018 and 2019. It also noted that inflation “is likely to be a bit lower in the near term.”
Chinese equities were in positive territory, extending the sharp gains made in the previous session. The Shanghai Composite was nearly flat at 0.13 percent in morning trade and the smaller Shenzhen Composite rose 0.52 percent. Still, the Shanghai benchmark was in bear market territory at the end of the last session.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index, meanwhile, was down 0.18 percent, even though property and construction stocks initially rose, leading the morning’s advance.
MSCI’s index of shares in Asia Pacific excluding Japan was lower by 0.33 percent in Asia morning trade.
That followed the mixed session seen stateside on Thursday. Major U.S. indexes traded flat for most of the day before slipping late in the session as investors focused on this quarter’s strong earnings. Nearly 90 percent of S&P 500 companies have reported quarterly results so far.
Trade concerns have also been in the spotlight, with China announcing earlier this week that it would retaliate against recent U.S. tariffs. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced Wednesday a 25 percent tariff on $16 billion in U.S. goods, a move that came after the U.S. Trade Representative’s office said duties on $16 billion in Chinese imports would take effect on Aug. 23.
The Nasdaq Composite notched its eighth consecutive positive session, finishing the day higher by 0.04 percent at 7,891.78. That was the tech-heavy index’s longest win streak this year. Other major U.S. indexes finished the session slightly lower.
European markets were also mixed overnight, with the pan-European Stoxx 600 edging 0.1 percent higher. Asian markets, meanwhile, closed mostly higher on Thursday.
The dollar mostly held onto overnight gains on Friday, with the dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of currencies, last at 95.559. Against the yen, the dollar traded at 110.95 at 9:53 a.m. HK/SIN, compared to the 111 handle seen overnight.
Ahead, markets are expected to watch for the release of U.S. consumer inflation data, with economists expecting core Consumer Price Index, which excludes food and energy prices, to rise by 0.2 percent in July.
Other notable moves included the slide in the Russian ruble on Thursday following news of U.S. sanctions on the country linked to an alleged poisoning in Britain earlier in the year. The currency traded at 66.6096 at 9:55 a.m. HK/SIN.
“U.S. introduction of new sanctions on Russia was a surprise given appearances of an uneventful Trump-Putin summit … This may signal that Trump could be compelled to escalate actions on U.S. geopolitical rivals ahead of key mid-term elections in November,” Vishnu Varathan, head of economics and strategy at Mizuho Bank, said in a note.
He added that China was “likely the next country that could see the U.S. administration devoting significant airtime to, particularly given perceptions of Chinese hostility in trade.”
Meanwhile, the Turkish lira extended losses, touching a new low against the dollar overnight after talks between officials from the U.S. and Turkey reportedly yielded no major progress, according to Reuters. The lira was on the back foot at 5.5848 to the dollar.
On the earnings front, corporates due to report results on Friday include Japan Post Holdings.
— CNBC’s Fred Imbert contributed to this report.
