Asia-Pacific markets fall

Asia-Pacific markets traded mostly lower with the exception of Japan as the yen pushed higher against both the euro and US dollar on Friday, reports CNBC.

This follows a Nikkei report which said Kazuo Ueda would be appointed as the Bank of Japan's next governor. The yen strengthened 0.77 per cent against the US dollar, and last stood at 130.64.

The Nikkei 225 rose 0.31 per cent to close at 27,670.98, while the Topix gained 0.1 per cent to end the day at 1,986.96.

In South Korea, the Kospi fell 0.48 per cent to 2,469.73 and the Kosdaq also inched 1.55 per cent lower to close at 772.44.

The Shanghai Composite fell 0.3 per cent and the Shenzhen Component shed 0.6 per cent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index also shed 2 per cent, leading losses in the region with the Hang Seng Tech index down 4.5 per cent.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 closed 0.76 per cent at 7,433.7 as investors digested the Reserve Bank of Australia's statement on monetary policy indicating further hikes ahead. Earlier this week, the central bank raised its benchmark interest rates by 25 basis points to 3.25 per cent.

Meanwhile, European markets were lower Friday as investors assess the economic outlook and the potential for further monetary policy tightening from the US Federal Reserve.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was down 1.3 per cent. Most sectors and major bourses were in the red, with retail stocks leading losses, down 3.7 per cent. Oil and gas stocks bucked the trend with a 2.2 per cent uptick.

The index closed higher on Thursday with the economic outlook and corporate earnings high on the agenda.