Investing.com - Asian shares held mostly weaker on Friday but Sydney posted small gains with investors focused on upcoming U.S. nonfarm payrolls for direction.
The Nikkei 225 fell 0.39%, while the S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.07%.
Chinese stocks were lower in the morning session with the commodities sector leading declines and the Shanghai Composite Index down 0.92%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was last down 0.61% at 20,580.40.
The yuan edged down against the dollar Friday morning after the People's Bank of China slightly weakened the fixing at 6.6853 this morning, compared with 6.6820 on Thursday.
Overnight, U.S. stocks were mixed after the close on Thursday, as gains in the Basic Materials, Consumer Services and Technology sectors led shares higher while losses in the Utilities, Telecoms and Oil & Gas sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.13%, while the S&P 500 index declined 0.09%, and the NASDAQ Composite index added 0.36%.