Asian shares closed mostly higher on the last trading day of the week in choppy trade as yuan weakened to a one-year low before paring its losses, with investors also digesting U.S. President Donald Trump's criticism of the Federal Reserve.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 lost 66.8 points, or 0.3%, to 22,697.88. Steelmakers, along with non-ferrous metals, were among the worst-performing sectors, with JFE Holdings falling 1.5% and Kobe Steel losing 2.3%.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng rebounded 213.62 points, or 0.8%, to 28,224.48, as financials and utilities led the gains before the market close. Property stocks which had dropped earlier pared losses.
South Korean stocks finished the day higher after trading both above and below the flat line. Samsung Electronics, an index heavyweight, rose 1.2%, but other large cap tech names were mixed.
Australian markets gained ground, as most sectors rose, although materials dropped 1.1% after base metal prices took a hit overnight.
Meanwhile, shares of TSMC jumped 5.8% in Taiwan even though the chipmaker cut its revenue outlook, citing reduced cryptocurrency mining demand in the third quarter.
CHINA
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 regained 64.55 points, or 1.9%, to 3,492.89
In individual movers, shares of Hainan Airlines tanked on Friday as the company resumed trade after it ended a trading halt that had been in place since January. The airline's stock was down 9.91% in Shanghai — close to the 10% daily limit.
The yuan retraced all of its early losses to trade at 6.7734 to the U.S. dollar in on-shore trading after earlier weakening as much as 6.8106 — crossing the 6.8 level for the first time in more than a year. The offshore yuan traded at 6.7900 to the dollar.
The People's Bank of China set the official mid-point at 6.7671 before the market open, the weakest fixing in a year.
The move higher in the Chinese currency in the afternoon came as large state banks moved to shore up the yuan by selling U.S. dollars.
In other markets
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index restored 20.25 points, or 0.6%, to 3,297.83
In Taiwan, the Taiex index popped 96.73 points, or 0.9%, to 10,932.11
In Korea, the Kospi index recovered 6.9 points, or 0.3%, to 2,289.19
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 recouped 37.95 points, or 0.4%, to 8,995.54
In Australia, the ASX 200 gained 23.15 points, or 0.4%, to 6,285.85
