Stocks in Asia-Pacific were mixed on Friday, as investors continued to watch developments surrounding China Evergrande Group.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 returned from holiday to grab 609.41, or 2.1%, to 30,248.81, with shares of Fast Retailing jumping 1.5%, and Softbank Group gaining 2.8%
The Japanese yen traded at 110.39 per U.S. dollar, having weakened days earlier from around 109.2 against the greenback.
The Hang Seng lost 318.82 points, or 1.3%, to 24,192.16.
Shares of China Evergrande Group in Hong Kong fell 11.6%. The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that Chinese authorities have told local officials to prepare for a potential demise of Evergrande.
Uncertainty also remains around whether Evergrande will pay the interest that was due Thursday on a dollar-denominated bond.
The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7269 following its climb yesterday from below $0.724.
In other markets
In China, the CSI 300 3.77 points or 0.1%, to 4,849.43
In Korea, the Kospi loosed 2.34 points, or 0.1%, to 3,125.24.
In Taiwan, the Taiex popped 181.97 points, or 0.9%, to 17,078.22.
In Singapore, the Straits Times doffed 15.09 points, or 0.5%, to 3,061.35
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 shed 46.37 points, or 0.4%, to 13,259.55
In Australia, the ASX 200 dropped 27.59 points, or 0.4%, at 7,342.62
