Asia Pacific markets ended mixed on Friday as investors waited for a highly anticipated meeting between President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at the G-20 summit in Argentina, which many hope will help ease escalating trade tensions between the two countries.
The Nikkei 225 gained 88.46 points, or 0.4%, to 22,351.06, with the yen trading at 113.37 to the U.S. dollar.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index regained 55.72 points, or 0.2%, to 26,506.75
The Bank of Korea raised its policy interest rate on Friday for the first time in a year, but the move was said to be widely expected.
Analysts said that despite a slowdown in overall economic indicators, the central bank raised rates due to "financial imbalance risk."
The Korean won traded at 1,121.05 to the U.S. dollar, weakening from levels below 1,120.
Australian markets fell back, with most sectors declining. The heavily weighted financial sub-index was down 1.6% as major banking stocks fell while the materials sector dropped 0.7%. The Australian dollar fetched $0.7318 U.S.
CHINA
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 gained 35.04 points, or 1.1%, to 3,172.69
Growth in China's manufacturing sector stalled for the first time in more than two years in November as new orders shrank. The official Purchasing Managers' Index, released Friday, fell to 50 for the month, missing market expectations and down from 50.2 in October.
As he left for Buenos Aires and the meeting with Chinese President Xi, U.S. President Trump told reporters Thursday that he was "close" to doing something on trade with China but added he wasn't sure if he wanted to do it.
Elsewhere, the Wall Street Journal reported that officials from both governments said the U.S. and China are exploring a trade pact that would halt further tariffs from Washington in exchange for new talks looking at major changes to Beijing's economic policies.
In other markets
In Taiwan, the Taiex index inched up 2.67 points to 9,888.03
In Korea, the Kospi index fell 17.24 points, or 0.8%, at 2,096.86
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index picked up 8.17 points, or 0.3%, to 3,117.61
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 added 28.66 points, or 0.3%, to 8,823.54
In Australia, the ASX 200 slid 91.26 points, or 1.6%, to 5,667.16
