(CNBC) Markets in Japan, South Korea and China closed lower on Friday, as geopolitical tensions in the region heightened, while other major bourses in Asia remained closed for a public holiday.
In Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225 closed down 91.21 points, or 0.49 percent, at 18,335.63, while the Topix slid 9.24 points, or 0.63 percent, to 1,459.07. Across the Korean Strait, the Kospi closed down 13.73 points, or 0.64 percent, at 2,134.88. Chinese mainland markets were also down — the Shanghai composite finished down 31.47 points, or 0.96 percent, at 3,244.48 and the Shenzhen composite fell 28.01 points, or 1.39 percent, to 1,986.64. Taiwan’s Taiex fell 103.75 points, or 1.05 percent, to 9,732.93.
The session in Asia followed a lower finish on Wall Street, after U.S. military forces dropped the largest non-nuclear bomb in Afghanistan on Thursday.