Asian shares were in the red on Friday with little Christmas cheer in thin holiday trade, after the Dow Jones index once again fell short of the 20,000-point mark.
Japanese markets were shuttered for the Emperor’s birthday
The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong dropped 61.44 points, or 0.3%, to 21,574.76
Hang Seng Bank and Bank of East Asia lost more than 1% each.
Australian markets dropped slightly, undisturbed after police said they foiled a terror plot in Melbourne. Both Australia and New Zealand shut down early for the Christmas holidays.
In South Korea, the Kospi was flat, but pharmaceutical shares rallied as the country battled its worst-ever case of bird flu. Hanmi Pharma jumped 4.6% and Daewoong Pharma rose 1.7% after 20 million birds, a quarter of the national poultry stock, were killed to contain the outbreak
The yen was fetching 117.37 per U.S. dollar, while the Australian dollar/U.S. dollar stood at $0.7214, down from levels as high as $0.7499 last week. The Korean won meanwhile fell to 1,203 per U.S. dollar, its lowest level since March.
CHINA
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 shed 28.07 points, or 0.8%, to 3,307.60
Coal producers were laggards, with Datong Coal down 1.8% and Shanxi Xishan Coal 3.6% lower, tracking losses in coal prices.
In other markets
In Korea, the Kospi nicked ahead 0.17 points at 2,035.90
The Straits Times Index in Singapore fell 10.99 points, or 0.4%, to 2,871.05
In Taiwan, the Taiex Index subtracted 40.11 points, or 0.4%, to 9,078.64
The NZX 50 added 25.12 points, or 0.4%, at 6,876.99
Australia's ASX 200 faded 16.04 points, or 0.3%, at 5,627.90
