Asia markets were mixed on the last trading day of the week, as markets continued to watch for any possible developments on the U.S.-China trade front.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 dropped 180.88 points, or 0.8%, to 22,307.06, after U.S. President Donald Trump had hinted to a columnist that Japan could be next in the trade crosshairs of America.
The Japanese yen weakened slightly but was still up against the U.S. dollar at 110.64.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng came to within 1.35 points of breakeven, but fell short, to 26,973.47
Korea ended the trading week down by 0.3%, with chipmaker SK Hynix tumbling 3.7% following the recent selloff in U.S. tech stocks.
Australian issues were negative on the day, while the Australian dollar was softer at $0.7152 U.S.
CHINA
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 poked ahead 14.76 points, or 0.5%, to 3,277.64
Markets were earlier expecting an escalation in the ongoing U.S.-China trade war, following reports which said the Trump administration could place tariffs on an additional $200 billion worth of Chinese goods when a public comment period ended at noon local time on Friday.
China's commerce ministry had stated on Thursday that the country would retaliate if the U.S. imposes new tariffs. Nevertheless, some economists expect the conflict to continue.
In other markets
In Singapore, the Straits Times STI index lost 13.3 points, or 0.4%, to 3,134.39
In Korea, the Kospi index slipped 6.03 points, or 0.3%, to 2,281.58
In Taiwan, the Taiex index slid 77.31 points, or 0.7%, to 10,846.99
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 removed 6.21 points, or 0.1%, to 9,095.39
In Australia, the ASX 200 leaned lower 16.61 points, or 0.3%, to 6,143.81
