Equities in Asia closed mostly lower on Friday as the U.S. dollar posted broad losses a day after the European Central Bank putting tapering on the table on Thursday.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index removed 121.7 points, or 0.6%, to end the week at 19,274.82,
The Hang Seng Index regained 145.55 points, or 0.5%, to 27,688.47
In corporate news, Apple is being pursued as a potential partner by three separate groups — including a consortium which counts Western Digital as a member — making offers for Toshiba's memory chip business, Nikkei Asian Review said Friday.
Western Digital is attempting to secure just below 16% of Toshiba's chip unit on the assumption of a future listing, Reuters quoted Japanese media as saying.
Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision Industry Co, or Foxconn Technology Group, has also continued to push its case for buying Toshiba's memory unit, according to media reports. Hon Hai's bid has support from Apple, Softbank and Sharp, Bloomberg said, citing a Hon Hai spokesperson.
Toshiba's shares closed flat, while Hon Hai shares finished 1.3% higher.
In individual stocks, South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor closed down 1.8% and auto parts supplier Hyundai Mobis tumbled 4.7% The moves followed Reuters headlines that the automaker had resumed operations at its China plant on Thursday after an incident earlier in the week over payment issues with a German supplier. Hyundai Motor's joint venture partner BAIC Motor reportedly preferred more affordable local suppliers
Second-quarter gross domestic product data released earlier in the morning showed the Japanese economy grew 2.5% on-year, below the 4% growth estimated in a preliminary reading.
Against the Japanese currency, the U.S. dollar fetched 107.77 yen, touching the pair's lowest levels since November 2016. The dollar also slid against other Asian currencies, with the New Zealand dollar gaining almost 1% against the greenback
Australian markets moved lower. Losses in the energy and heavily-weighted financials sub-indexes weighed on the broader market.
Tepid moves in the market could also be due to investor concerns over North Korea. The hermit state will celebrate a national holiday on Saturday and experts believe it could launch another missile then.
The European Central Bank held interest rates steady at 0% on Thursday. ECB President Mario Draghi said the central bank would be prepared to make a decision on its quantitative easing program at its October meeting.
CHINA
The CSI 300 fell 3.88 points, or 0.1%, to 3,825.99
In China-related headlines, the country's exports in August rose 5.5% in dollar terms, compared with a year earlier. Imports increased 13.3% in dollar terms. Those compared with the 6% rise in exports and 10% rise in imports forecast by analysts in a poll.
Meanwhile, China foreign exchange reserves added almost $11 billion U.S. in August to $3.092 trillion, Reuters reported on Thursday. That was the seventh consecutive month in that China's reserves have risen.
Before the market open in China, China's central bank set the yuan midpoint stronger for a 10th consecutive day.
Friday's midpoint stood at 6.5032 to the dollar. The People's Bank of China allows the yuan spot rate to rise or fall a maximum of 2% against the dollar, relative to its fixing rate.
The on-shore yuan traded at 6.4492 to the dollar after strengthening to trade as high as 6.4346 earlier. In the offshore market, the Chinese currency traded at 6.4669 to the dollar.
In other markets
In Taiwan, the Taiex index settled 9.35 points, or 0.1%, to 10,538.51
In Korea, the Kospi index dropped 2.47 points, or 0.1%, to 2,343.72
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index inched up 0.5 points to 3,228.56
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 picked up 47.27 points, or 0.6%, to 7,851.53
In Australia, the ASX 200 settled 17.26 points, or 0.3%, to 5,672.62
