· European stocks moved lower on Friday morning, with sentiment curbed by concerns over plans to overhaul the tax system in the U.S.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 was off by 0.21 percent with most sectors trading in negative territory. Retail stocks were the worst-performing sector after H&M reported fourth-quarter sales below its own expectations. The stock dropped more than 12 percent in early trade.
· Asian shares erased earlier modest gains on Friday but were still on track for a weekly rise, as sentiment was hurt by Wall Street’s weakness on concerns about the progress of U.S. tax reform.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS was down 0.5 percent, but poised to gain 0.7 percent for the week.
· Japanese stocks fell to their lowest in more than a week on Friday, with mobile firms extending a sell-off on concerns of increased competition after e-commerce group Rakuten said it aims to become the country’s fourth wireless carrier.
Taking the cue from weak U.S. stocks overnight, the Nikkei share average declined 0.6 percent to 22,553.22, the lowest closing since Dec. 7.
For the week, the Nikkei shed 1.1 percent.
· China stocks fell on Friday, leaving main indexes down for the week, as investors responded to China’s hike in market interest rates by taking profits in sectors that have had robust gains this year.
At the close, the Shanghai Composite index was down 26.29 points or 0.8 percent at 3,266.15. The index shed 0.7 percent for the week, extending its streak of weekly losses to five.
Reference: Reuters, CNBC
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