Asian stock exchanges largely began the last day of the trading week on a minus note after two of the three leading indices on the American stock exchange closed down.
In Tokyo, the important Nikkei 225 index had fallen by 2 percent at lunchtime, while the broader Topix index fell by 1 percent.
More cheerful tones were heard from the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong, which had risen by 1.9 percent.
In Shanghai, the composite index fluctuated around zero, while the Shenzhen composite index decreased by 0.2.
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