Stocks fell across most of Asia Friday with Japanese stocks declining for a second straight session Friday. Stocks were dragged down by steel and metal shares following an overnight decline in London copper prices. The benchmark Nikkei 225 stock index fell 99.02 points, or 0.57 percent, to finish at 17,399.58 points on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. On Thursday, the index slipped 0.17 percent.
Hong Kong shares fell Friday, tracking declines in both the Japanese and mainland Chinese markets, amid heated speculation of possible austerity measures in mainland China. The blue chip Hang Seng Index fell 89.77 points, or 0.4 percent, to 20,904.84 after climbing to a record high Thursday. The Hang Seng gained 2 percent on the week.
Elsewhere:
SINGAPORE: Singapore's Straits Times index dropped 0.4 percent.
SHANGHAI: China's Shanghai Composite Index ended down 0.5 percent at 4,030.26.
MUMBAI: India's Sensex was trading down 0.02 percent at 14296.55.
SEOUL: Korea's Kospi index slipped 0.2 percent to 1,612.25.
SYDNEY: Australian stocks dipped Friday, dragged down by resource sector after base metals fell in London overnight, including copper, which hit a six-week low. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index dropped 53.4 points, or 0.8 percent, to close at 6,312.5 after earlier falling to 6,300.1.
WELLINGTON: New Zealand stocks were flat Friday, with enthusiasm over the national budget released Thursday supporting the market amid a sell-off of some of the previous session's biggest gainers. The NZX-50 index was up 4.9 points, or 0.1 percent, to 4,280.43.
With files from wire services
