Summary Asian markets fell Friday at the end of a strong week for equities and the dollar.
HONG KONG (AFP) - Asian markets fell Friday at the end of a strong week for equities and the dollar, despite another record day for US stocks on Wall Street fuelled by upbeat jobs data.
The dollar slipped in early European trade after approaching the 100-yen level earlier in the day in Asia, while the euro dipped following an announcement from Cyprus that the cost of its bailout had expanded.
Tokyo fell 0.45 percent, or 61.28 points, to 13,487.88, with profit-takers moving in to reap the benefits of a rally of about 10 percent since the Bank of Japan s huge stimulus plan last week.
Seoul lost 1.31 percent, or 25.57 points, to end at 1,924.23 amid simmering tensions on the Korean peninsula.
But Sydney rose 0.13 percent, or 6.4 points, to 5,013.5.
Hong Kong was flat, edging down 12.22 points to 22,089.05, while Shanghai fell 0.58 percent, or 12.77 points, to 2,206.78.
Regional markets have enjoyed a bright week, in line with a global advance, with the Bank of Japan s promise of huge spending to fight deflation sending the yen tumbling and stocks soaring.
Soft inflation figures from China also tempered fears of monetary tightening from Beijing, which provided regional support.
US investors provided a positive lead after the Labor Department said new claims for unemployment benefits came in at 346,000 last week, below the forecast 365,000 and a sharp fall from the previous week.
On Wall Street the Dow climbed 0.42 percent and the S&P 500 rose 0.36 percent, both finishing at record highs for a second straight day. The tech-rich Nasdaq added 0.09 percent.
On foreign exchange markets the dollar eased but hovered below the 100-yen mark, which it has not breached since April 2009.
The dollar bought 99.03 yen in European trade, compared with 99.73 yen in New York late Thursday. The greenback came within a whisker of the key marker Thursday, hitting 99.95 yen at one point.
The euro was at $1.3048 and 129.30 yen, compared with $1.3096 and 130.68 yen.
The European single currency eased on renewed concerns over Cyprus, which said Thursday the cost of its EU-IMF rescue package had surged to 23 billion euros ($30 billion) from 17.5 billion euros, putting it back in danger of collapse.
The rise means Nicosia will now have to find 6.0 billion euros more than first quoted in an agreement reached on March 25 in order to secure an EU-IMF contribution of 10 billion euros.
Global markets were rocked last month after Cyprus said it would tax all deposits to find the matching cash. While that was changed to protect small savers, those with more than 100,000 euros will still be hit.
A source close to talks said its financing needs had "evolved".
"Notably, while the restructuring of the financial sector will now be very largely financed through private means, the projected fiscal needs of the state have increased as a result of the deeper-than-expected recession," the source said.
Eyes are also on the stand-off between North Korea and South Korea and the United States after Pyongyang threatened a thermo-nuclear war.
US Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday denounced North Korea s "unacceptable" rhetoric and said it would never be accepted as a nuclear state, while holding out the possibility of dialogue.
Oil prices were lower, with New York s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in May, down $1.00 to $92.51 a barrel in the afternoon and Brent North Sea crude for May delivery losing $1.27 to $103.00.
Gold was at $1,548.60 an ounce at 1045 GMT compared with $1,558.48 late on Thursday.
In other markets:
-- Singapore fell 0.44 percent, or 14.61 points, to close at 3,294.19.
-- Taipei fell 0.46 percent, or 36.35 points, to 7,821.63.
Hon Hai fell 2.36 percent to Tw$78.6 while TSMC was 0.99 percent down at Tw$100.5.
-- Manila closed 0.87 percent higher, adding 59.69 points 6,891.43.
SM Investments added 1.43 percent to 1,135 pesos, while Ayala Corp. rose 0.84 percent to 602 pesos and DMCI Holdings surged 5.78 percent to 60.40 pesos.
-- Wellington closed 0.59 percent, or 26.23 points, higher at 4,435.77.
Fletcher Building was up 0.70 percent at NZ$8.66, Contact Energy rose 2.47 percent to NZ$5.81 and Telecom was steady at NZ$2.43.
-- Kuala Lumpur slipped 0.50 percent, or 8.51 points, to 1,698.53.
UEM Land Holdings fell 2.5 percent to 2.78 ringgit and IOI Corp eased 2.2 percent to 4.87 ringgit. IHH Healthcare rose 0.5 percent to 3.76 ringgit.
-- Jakarta climbed 0.26 percent, or 12.95 points, to 4,937.21.
-- Bangkok added 0.69 percent, or 10.51 points, to 1,527.32.
Telecoms firm Advanced Info Service jumped 5.76 percent to 257.00 baht, while communications giant True Corp. rose 3.29 percent to 7.85 baht.
-- Mumbai fell 1.62 percent or 299.64 points to 18,242.56.
IT exporter Infosys plunged 21.33 percent to 2,295.45 rupees after it forecast a muted revenue outlook for the new fiscal year, while rival Wipro fell 4.72 percent to 383.3 rupees.
