Asia-Pacific markets fell across the board on Friday as investors prepared for signals on US monetary policy from central bankers' comments at the Jackson Hole meeting on Friday, reports CNBC.
Japan's Nikkei 225 tumbled 2.05 per cent, leading losses in Asia and closing at 31,624.28. The Topix was down 0.88 per cent, ending at 2,266.4. Both indexes snapped four-day winning streaks.
Core inflation rate for Japan's capital Tokyo came in at 2.8 per cent for August, slightly below the 2.9 per cent expected by economists polled by Reuters. The core inflation rate strips out prices of fresh food.
Overall inflation for Tokyo was recorded at 2.9 per cent, lower than the 3.2 per cent seen in July.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 also lost 0.93 per cent, ending at 7,115.2. South Korea's Kospi fell 0.73 per cent, finishing at 2,519.14 and the Kosdaq was lower by 0.26 per cent, closing at 899.38.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was down 1.28 per cent in its final hour, while mainland Chinese markets saw a smaller loss, with the CSI 300 slipping 0.38 per cent and ending at 3,709.15.
Meanwhile, European markets were mixed on Friday as traders digested comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell at the annual Jackson Hole symposium.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 traded 0.1 per cent lower during afternoon deals, with technology stocks falling 0.8 per cent to lead losses.
The continental blue chip index closed the Thursday session down 0.4 per cent as global momentum on the back of US chipmaker Nvidia's blowout earnings faded throughout the day.
