Investing.com - Asian shares were mostly weaker on Friday with Tokyo bucking the trend following trade data out of China that disappointed on exports.
The Shanghai composite was down 0.38% while Shenzhen composite slipped 0.68%. The S&P/ASX 200 eased 0.79%.
In China, the trade balance came in at a surplus of $40.82 billion for December with exports down 6.1% and imports up 3.1%.
The Nikkei 225 rose 0.65%.
In sparse remarks, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen on Thursday said she has no major worries for the U.S. economy over the short term. The labor market is "strong," wage growth is "beginning to pick up," and inflation is a little below the Fed's 2% target "but pretty close," she told a group of economics teachers in Washington, D.C. on Thursday evening.
U.S. stocks were lower after the close on Thursday, as losses in the Financials, Technology and Oil & Gas sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.34%, while the S&P 500 index lost 0.27%, and the NASDAQ Composite index lost 0.41%.