Asia markets closed mostly lower on Friday, with Japanese stocks selling off more than 1% after soft inflation data prompted concerns over the effectiveness of government stimulus.
The Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo shed 195.24 points, or 1.2%, to 16,360.71
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index regained 94.59 points, or 0.4%, to 22,909.54
The Japanese yen remained relatively flat against the dollar, close to the key 100 handle, trading at 100.45 as of late afternoon local time.
Earlier, the yen strengthened from levels near 100.55 to as high as 100.35 after the government released its July inflation data.
Data from the country's Statistics Bureau showed Japan's core consumer prices, excluding fresh food, fell 0.5% on-year in July, versus a forecast that expected a 0.4% decline. The so-called core-core consumer prices, excluding food and energy items, rose 0.3% on-year in July, but fell 0.2% from the previous month.
The preliminary August core consumer prices in Tokyo, released a month in advance compared to the nationwide consumer prices, also fell 0.4% on-year.
The decline in consumer prices in Japan will likely put pressure on both the government and the Bank of Japan to do more in their bid to prop up growth in the country's moribund economy.
In late July, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had announced a government stimulus package worth 28 trillion yen ($265.30 billion U.S.), and in early August, the government approved 13.5 trillion yen in fiscal measures that included 7.5 trillion yen in spending by the national and local governments.
Export stocks in Japan sold off despite the relatively little movement in the yen, with Toyota shares tumbling 3.4%, Nissan down 0.9% and Sony off 1.2%
CHINA
The Shanghai CSI 300 docked 1.88 points, or 0.1%, to 3,307.09, after major indexes sold off on Thursday due to concerns over the amount of spare cash in the banking system, as well as fears of an overheating property market.
In China, media reports say the People's Bank of China (PBOC) was set to pour 95 billion yuan ($14.27 billion U.S.) into money markets through seven-day reverse bond repurchase agreements and an additional 50 billion yuan through 14-day reverse repos.
Earlier this week, the PBOC re-introduced the 14-day reverse repos for the first time since February, which prompted renewed concerns about the availability of sufficient cash in the money market.
In other markets
The Taiex Index in Taiwan gained 16.25 points, or 0.2%, to 9,131.72
In Korea, the Kospi index moved lower 5.42 points, or 0.3%, to 2,037.50
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index dipped 19.28 points, or 0.7%, to 2,857.65
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 loosed 35.97 points, or 0.5%, to 7,391.31
The ASX 200 subtracted 26.42 points, or 0.5%, to 5,515.47
