Asian and Pacific Rim markets were mostly lower on Friday. Asian traders remain worried over mounting trade war tensions between the world’s two largest economies, the United States and China.
The Asian benchmark in Japan, the Nikkei 225, was trading down about 0.57 percent. It was down more during the morning session. The broader Topix index, in Tokyo, was down 0.2 percent.
In South Korea, the Kospi composite index was down 0.59 percent. In the Down Under, the S&P ASX 200 was down 0.67 percent. The heavily weighted financial sub-index was down 0.84 percent.
The MSCI Asia index, not including Japanese stocks, was down 0.18 percent.
In China, on the mainland, the benchmarks were lower on Friday. The Shenzhen composite lost 0.39 percent. The smaller Shanghai composite was also in the red.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index was up a fraction of a percent.
Asian Traders continue to worry over the Trade War between the United States and China
The United States and China have imposed tariffs on billions of dollars in goods. Trade tensions have riled the global financial markets and decreased business sentiment. The trade war escalated earlier in the month after the U.S. hiked existing tariffs on goods from China. Traders are also worried that the trade war will last longer than expected.
U.S. economic data is also worrying. This sent Wall Street lower. Manufacturing activity in the U.S. economy grew at its slowest pace since September 2009 for the month of May.