Asian shares pulled back on Friday, with Japanese markets notably dipping from a recent record, as investors chose to secure profits. This comes ahead of a pivotal week featuring a deadline for U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs and multiple central bank meetings. Gold prices fell to around $3,360 per ounce on Friday, marking a third consecutive session of losses, as concerns over tariffs continued to ease. Japan ( NKY:IND ) fell 0.87% to below 41,700, while the Topix Index dropped 0.6% to 2,960 on Friday, as investors booked profits following a sharp rally that pushed both indexes to new highs. The Japanese yen slipped to around 147.5 per dollar on Friday, marking its second consecutive day of losses, as markets digested the implications of the new US-Japan trade agreement. Japan’s index of coincident economic indicators—which tracks key data such as factory output, employment, and retail sales—stood at 116.0 in May 2025, slightly above the flash estimate of 115.9 but unchanged from April's reading. Japan’s leading economic index—which reflects the outlook for the coming months based on indicators such as job offers and consumer sentiment—was revised down to 104.8 in May 2025 from a preliminary estimate of 105.3. On the data front, Tokyo’s core inflation in July came in below expectations but remained well above the Bank of Japan’s 2% target, reinforcing market expectations for another rate hike this year. China ( SHCOMP ) fell 0.23% to below 3,600, while the Shenzhen Component edged down 0.1% to 11,180 on Friday, as investors turned cautious ahead of further US-China trade negotiations next week, and the offshore yuan weakened to around 7.15 against the US dollar on Friday, retreating from an over eight-month high reached in the previous session. China on Thursday released a draft amendment to its pricing law to address excessive competition and price wars, amid ongoing deflationary pressures. The proposed changes aim to curb practices like selling below cost to eliminate competitors or monopolize markets, except in cases of legitimate discounts such as for seasonal or overstocked goods. Investor attention is also focused on China’s industrial profits data due this weekend. Hong Kong ( HSI ) fell 0.82% to 25,410 on Friday morning, down for the first time in six sessions, as traders took profits after markets hit a near 4-year top earlier in the week. India ( SENSEX ) fell 0.75% to 81,827 on Friday, extending losses from the previous session and hitting its lowest level since mid-June. Australia ( AS51 ) fell 0.50% dropped 0.5% to 8,664 in morning trade on Friday, extending losses from the previous session, with nearly all sectors in the red. The Australian dollar fell to around $0.658 on Friday, extending losses from the previous session, as investors remained cautious ahead of key inflation data due next week. Meanwhile, investors are closely watching developments in US–Australia trade relations. In the latest development, Australia has agreed to ease restrictions on US beef imports—a decision that follows tensions over previous trade limitations. In the U.S., on Thursday, all three major indexes ended mixed, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 closed at fresh record highs on Thursday, rising 0.1% and 0.2% respectively, supported by strong earnings from Alphabet that bolstered investor confidence in AI investments. U.S. stock futures edged higher on Friday after the major averages ended mixed in the previous session: Dow +0.24% ; S&P 500 +0.23% ; Nasdaq +0.18% . Currencies: ( JPY:USD ), ( CNY:USD ), ( AUD:USD ), ( INR:USD ), ( HKD:USD ), ( NZD:USD ). More on Asia: Trump says U.S. strikes ‘massive’ trade deal with Japan, imposes 15% tariffs Japan vows more rice imports from U.S. as part of trade deal Japanese PM Shigeru Ishiba to step down RBA holds rates steady, citing unclear inflation picture in July minutes Japan's core inflation eases to 3.3% in June, slowest pace since March
