Investing.com - ASian shares were weaker on Friday as China heads into a week-long holiday that will seen thin regional markets next week.
The Nikkei 225 slumped 1.94%, while the S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.18% and the Shanghai Composite edged down 0.11%.
In Australia, fourth quarter retail sales rose 0.6%, below the 0.9% gain seen.
"December’s weaker than expected retail sales figures suggest that Australian retailers had a disappointing Christmas period and that consumer spending has lost some momentum," Capital Economics said in a note to clients.
"The gains in both October and November were revised down too. The cooling housing market may have started to hit sales, with household goods falling by 1.0% m/m after rising rapidly in the previous four months. The disappointing results were also driven by a 0.5% m/m fall in spending at cafes, which was weaker than the 0.8% m/m rise in November. There were a few bright spots, with the 0.8% m/m rise in food sales building on decent growth in recent months."
As well, the Reserve Bank of Australia lowered its estimates of GDP in the coming year, but kept inflation views unchanged in its latest monetary policy statement released on Friday.
The statement noted continued concerns about the health of China's economy, including for the statrt dates of major liquified natural gas projects aimed at exports.
The statement comes after a Feb. 2 decision to hold interest rates steady at a record low 2%, while noting there is scope to ease furtehr if warranted.
Earlier in Australia, the AIG Construction index fell to 46.3 in January from 46.8 the previous month.
Overnight, U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Thursday, as gains in the Basic Materials, Industrials and Financials sectors led shares higher.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.49%, while the S&P 500 index gained 0.15%, and the NASDAQ Composite index added 0.12%.