Japanese stocks fell in thin trade on Friday as investors took in macroeconomic data to close the week.
The Nikkei 225 index fell 60.47 points, or 0.3%, to 19,883.94. The benchmark index was flat for the week, which saw subdued trading due to holiday closures at home and in the United States.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng tumbled 420.62 points, or 1.9%, to 22,086.32. For the week, the index was down 3% the biggest weekly loss since late September.
Data released Friday showed Japan's core consumer prices fell for the third straight month, underscoring the fragile nature of the economy. The core consumer price index, which excludes fresh foods, fell 0.1% on-year last month as a result of sliding commodity prices.
Meanwhile, Japan's unemployment rate for October fell to 3.1% according to government data, the lowest reading for October since 1995 as a shortage of workers led to more people finding employment. But despite having more people in the workforce, Japanese household spending fell 2.4% on-year in October.
The Japanese yen traded flat against the U.S. at 122.60.
Investors did not appear too concerned by the data in morning trade. Japanese blue chip companies Sony, Canon, and Toshiba all closed in the positive while Mitsubishi Electric was down.
Automakers were trading mixed, with shares of Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors closing up. Honda, Mazda, and Toyota all ended lower; earlier in the week, Toyota recalled 1.6 million cars, adding to the total of 15 million vehicles since 2013, due to faulty airbags.
The Hong Kong-listed shares of CITIC Securities tumbled 4.9%, after the Chinese brokerage said it was under investigation by China's stock regulators.
Hong Kong-traded shares of Haitong Securities were suspended from trading, as media outlets reported that the brokerage was also under regulatory probe.
In Korea, chipmaker SK Hynix lost its morning gains to close down 750 points, or 2.3%, after the company said it rejected a collaboration proposal from China's Tsinghua Unigroup. Neither company gave any details on the reported proposal.
In Australia, Shares of Rio Tinto could not carry on positive momentum from morning trade, closing 0.26 points, or 0.6%, lower.
The company won final approval to expand its Warkworth coal mine in New South Wales, despite protests from environmental groups. Reports said Rio Tinto could now look for potential buyers for the mine as it aims to reduce its coal business following a slump in global coal prices.
CHINA
Chinese shares sank more than 5% on Friday in their biggest drop since this summer's rout after media outlets reported the stock regulator had widened its probe on brokerages to include the country's fourth-biggest securities firm.
The CSI 300 in Shanghai collapsed 202.44 points, or 5.4%, to 3,556.99, its biggest one-day percentage loss since the gulch of the summer rout in late August.
The sharp drop in afternoon trade highlights the volatility of China's markets ahead of an expected decision by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Monday on whether to include the yuan currency in its global reserve basket.
China Haitong Securities is under investigation by the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), two people with direct knowledge of the matter said, following similar probes into two other domestic brokers.
The brokerage later confirmed the news, saying in a statement published on the Shanghai stock exchange that it is being probed for possible violation of securities regulations.
Little has emerged as to the specific reasons for the probes, but one analyst said the regulator could be trying to get a better grip on leveraged trading after a near full-blown market crash a few months ago.
News media also reported this week that Haitong, along with Guotai Junan Securities, is also being probed by anti-corruption investigators.
In September, Haitong was fined 86 million yuan ($13.5 million U.S.) by the regulator for breaching securities rules.
Metal shares reacted negatively on the back of falling industrial profits for October. Shares of Baoshan Steel, Aluminium Corp, and Yunnan Copper slumped between 5% and 9.7%.
The yuan softened to a three-month low against the U.S. dollar on Friday and was set for its longest weekly losing streak in five months ahead of the IMF's decision next week.
In other markets
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index docked 25.57 points, or 0.9%, to 2,859.12
The Kospi index in Korea slumped 1.69 points, or 0.1%, to 2,028.99
Taiwan’s Taiex index dropped 86.5 points, or 1%, to 8,398.4
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 poked up 13.12 points, or 0.2%, to 6,101.02
The ASX 200 erased 8.11 points, or 0.2%, to 5,202.59
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