Stocks in Asia-Pacific were mixed on Friday as coronavirus cases continue to surge in the U.S., dimming optimism from positive vaccine news.
The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo tailed off 135.01 points, or 0.5%, to end the week at 25,385.87.
The Japanese yen traded at 105.05 per U.S. dollar, having weakened steeply from levels below 104.3 against the greenback earlier in the trading week.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index lost 12.52 points, or 0.1%, to 26,156.86. Shares of Chinese tech juggernaut Tencent bucked the trend, and surged 4.3% in Hong Kong. That came after the company announced Thursday its quarterly profit rose more than 80% from last year.
Investors continue to monitor the coronavirus situation in the U.S., as daily new cases of the virus continued to rise in the country, setting fresh records.
U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell warned Thursday that the "next few months could be challenging" despite recent developments on the vaccine front.
The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.724 after seeing an earlier low of $0.7219.
In other markets
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 forfeited 51.61 points, or 1.1%, to 4,856.85.
In Korea, the Kospi index advanced 18.25 points, or 0.7%, to 2,493.87.
In Taiwan, the Taiex Index rebuilt 51.55 points, or 0.4%, to 13,273.33.
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index moved lower 0.51 points to 2,711.39
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 gained 29.55 points, or 0.2%, to 12,700.17
In Australia, the ASX 200 dropped 13 points, or 0.2%, to 6,405.22.
