Asian markets were slightly mixed on Friday after the U.S. declared tariffs on steel and aluminum imports would be applied.

Asian markets were slightly mixed on Friday due to investors concerns over trade tensions after the U.S. declared tariffs on steel and aluminum imports would be applied.

The primary Chinese indices were lower on today’s session as Shanghai Composite lost 0.84 percent to close at 3,069.62 pressured by losses in sectors except for Energies sector which gained only 0.17 percent.

Furthermore, Shenzhen also fell by around one percent to end the session in the red territory at 3,768.49 due to declines in Healthcare, Consumer Cyclicals and Technology sectors.

Hong Kong equities also declined as Hang Seng index lost 0.08 percent or 25.13 points to settle at 30,443.85 pressured by losses in Consumer Cyclicals and Consumer Non-Cyclicals sectors.

On the other hand, in South Korea, equities closed today’s trading session in the green as market’s main index KOSPI rose by 0.66 percent to close higher at 2,438.96 supported by the gains in Healthcare, Consumer Non-Cyclicals, and Consumer Cyclicals sectors

Japanese Stock Market: (Nikkei225)

Tokyo’s primary benchmark Nikkei index closed today in the red territory and lost 0.14 percent to end the session at 22,171.35 pressured by Consumer Non-Cyclicals, Utilities, and Telecom Services sectors.

Major exporters are mixed as Canon, and Mitsubishi Electric are down by 0.2 percent and less than 0.1 percent respectively, while Panasonic is adding around 0.4 percent and Sony rose by 0.2 percent.

Among automakers, Toyota is gaining around 3 percent, and Honda is adding 0.7 percent. Furthermore, in the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial gained more than one percent while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is up by 0.3 percent

In the Forex market, the greenback rose against the JPY to trade at 109.15 at 07:30 GMT.

Australian Stock Market: (ASX200)

Australian shares were down as S&P/ASX200 lost 0.36 percent to close the session lower at 6,990.40 due to losses in Utilities, Telecom Services, and Financials sectors.

In the mining space, BHP Billiton dropped 0.2 percent, while Rio Tinto lost more than one percent. On the other hand, Fortescue Metals gained 0.1 percent after iron ore price fell.

Among banking sector, Westpac, Commonwealth Bank, and National Australia Bank are lower in range of 0.3 percent and 0.9 percent, on the other hand, ANZ Banking edged a little bit higher to less than 0.1 percent.

In the currency market, the Aussie fell against the USD to trade at 0.7554 at 07:30 GMT.