Japan closes in red
TOKYO, Japan -- Tokyo's Nikkei 225 closed down half a percent Friday following lackluster trade on Wall Street.
Tech-related stocks and banks were among the decliners.
Most other Asian markets also weakened, with Taiwan posting a fall of 1.2 percent.
Investors wound down trading ahead of a long weekend in Japan, with Japanese financial markets closed Monday for a national holiday.
The Nikkei finished the day down 0.51 percent to 11,082.49 after closing 0.17 percent lower Thursday.
The broader Topix index ended 0.31 percent lower to 1,118.55.
There were falls for Sony, Hitachi, Toshiba and Fujitsu. Canon, which fell 2 percent Thursday, recovered slightly with a gain of 0.8 percent to 5210 yen.
Carmakers Nissan and Toyota finished in the red but Honda was up.
Big banks were lower, with SMFG down 2 percent, Mizuho down 1.6 percent and UFJ off 1.7 percent to 44,000 yen.
Consumer finance company Takefuji put on 1.5 percent to 7290 yen after a report that U.S. investment bank Goldman Sachs is bidding to buy a stake. (Full story)
In Seoul, the Kospi ended 0.85 percent lower to 848.11. That reverses Thursday's gain, when the Kospi closed at a three-and-a-half month high of 855.38.
Samsung Electronics was down 2.2 percent, while Hyundai Motor put on half a percent to 56,000 won.
Taiwan's Taiex ended down 1.23 percent, with falls for chip foundries TSMC and UMC.
Australia's S&P/ASX200 put on 0.19 percent to close at a fresh record high of 3631.6. Media giant News Corp. rose 1 percent to A$12.05.
Singapore's Straits Times index is virtually flat heading towards the close, as is Hong Kong's Hang Seng index.
