Asian stocks retreat, tracking losses on the Wall Street

Stock markets across Asia are trading lower this Friday morning following the risk-off action on the Wall Street.

Japan’s Nikkei index dropped 0.68% or 135 points. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.89% or 52 points despite the uptick in the commodity prices. Stocks in Hong Kong traded flat, while the Shanghai Composite index added 0.2%. Despite the uptick, Chinese shares are headed for a fifth week of declines.

The S&P 500 dropped 0.2% from the record high; its largest drop in three weeks.

Reuters reported this Friday morning that the United States has reached a set of narrow trade deals with China covering areas like electronic payment services, beef and poultry.

Experts say the Trump administration has left the bigger issues untouched and that could still complicate relations between the two major trading partners. The news has not had any positive impact on the equities so far. This is evident from a 0.17% drop in the S&P 500 futures.

Later in the day, US will release its consumer price index (CPI) data for April. A strong number could boost Fed rate hike odds and weigh over the equities.