Asian shares edged down on Friday after a slide on Wall Street as nervous investors eyed US-China trade talks in Washington.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 slipped 0.3 per cent to 21,402.57 in morning trading. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.4 per cent to 6,165.00. South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.4 per cent to 2,220.23.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 0.3 per cent to 28,545.23. The Shanghai Composite was flat at 2,752.62, reports AP.
Health care and energy companies led US stocks lower. The S&P 500 fell 0.4 per cent to 2,774.88. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also lost 0.4 per cent, to 25,850.63.
The Nasdaq composite declined 0.4 per cent to 7,459.71 while the Russell 2000 index of smaller companies gave up 0.4 per cent to 1,575.55.
Benchmark US crude fell 10 cents to $56.86 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It slid 0.3 per cent to settle at $56.96 a barrel in New York.
Brent crude, used to price international oils, slid 18 cents to $66.89 a barrel.
The dollar rose to 110.78 yen from 110.70 yen on Thursday. The euro weakened to $1.1335 from $1.1338.