Most Asian markets lost ground on Friday, as investors await closely watched April U.S. non-farm payroll numbers, but Australian shares retraced earlier losses after the central bank lowered its inflation forecast.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 returned from several days off to drop 40.66 points, or 0.3%, to 16,106.72
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index tumbled 339.35 points, or 1.7%, to 20,109.82
Korean markets had the day off
Australian markets gained, retracing earlier losses of as much as 1.5% after the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) monetary policy statement released Friday showed that the central bank had cut its inflation outlook sharply, hinting that further interest rate cuts were not off the table.
In currency markets, the Australian dollar took a hit from the RBA's inflation forecast cut, falling as low as $0.7396 U.S. after the announcement, compared with levels as high as $0.7478 before it. The currency pair was fetching 0.7388 U.S. late afternoon, having traded slightly above $0.77 before the RBA surprised markets on Tuesday by cutting rates to a record low 1.75%.
In Australia's stock market, energy shares weighed the index, with the energy sub-index down 1.3%, while the financials sub-index shed 0.2%. The losses were offset by gains in the materials sub-index, which was up 1%
Macquarie Group shares fell 0.3% after the bank posted a record full-year net profit, up 62.5% from the year before, and raised its dividend by 21% to A$4 per share on Friday
Most major Australian banks were down, with the exception of Westpac, up 1%, and National Australia Bank, 1.3% higher.
Energy shares were lower in Australia, with Origin Energy down 3.4% and Santos lower by 4.6%. Hong Kong-listed shares of Petrochina fell 3.3%
Major resource producers were mixed, with Rio Tinto down 0.7% while Fortescue Metals advanced 2.6%, BHP Billiton was up 0.2%
In other currency moves, the U.S. dollar/Japanese yen currency pair was at 107.12, down from levels over 111.50 last week
CHINA
The CSI 300 Index fell 83.57 points, or 2.6%, to 3,130.35.
China shares extended early losses after a Dow Jones report that there were market rumors that the local regulators may want to delay mainland listings of U.S.-listed China companies.
In other markets;
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index dropped 37.01 points, or 1.3%, to 2,730.80
In Taiwan, the Taiex Index moved downward 21.53 points, or 0.3%, to 8,146.43
New Zealand’s NZX 50 gained 21.63 points, or 0.3%, to 6,898.11
The ASX 200 added 12.99 points, or 0.3%, to 5,292.05
