Bangkok-- Stocks fell on Friday in Asia, with Hong Kong's benchmark index retreating as property stocks sold off following recent gains.
US futures rose after Wall Street markets were closed on Thursday for Thanksgiving public holiday. Oil prices were mixed.
Japan reported that its consumer inflation rose for the first time in four months, with big gains in food hotel prices and rates as tourism has skyrocketed. The consumer price index increased 3.3% in October compared to the previous year, compared to 3% in September, in a trend contrary to the Bank of JapanWashington forecasts that price pressures will ease towards the end of the year.
"Both the government and the BOJ will be concerned about higher-than-expected inflation," Robert Carnell and Min Joo Kang of ING Economics said in a commentary. That will likely lead the central bank to tighten its extremely loose monetary policy in the new year, they said.
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 added 0.5% to 33,625.53.
Chinese stocks retreated following recent gains driven by expectations of greater government support for debt-ridden property developers. Shares of Country Garden, one of the largest, sank 7.6% after gaining 16% the previous day.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng fell 1.8% to 17,587.23. The Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.7% to 3,042.10.
South Korea's Kospi fell 0.7% to 2,496.63, while the S&The P/ASX 200 in Australia gained 0.2% to 7,040.80
In Bangkok, the SET fell 0.4%, while Taiwan's Taiex lost less than 0.1%.
On Thursday, European stocks rose in a thin session of activity. Germany's DAX gained 0.2% to 15,994.73 and Paris' CAC 40 also rose 0.2% to 7,277.93. Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.2% to 7,483.58.
Wall Street will only have a half-day of trading on Friday. On Wednesday, before the holiday, the S&The P 500 rose 0.4% and the Dow Jones rose 0.5%. The Nasdaq gained 0.5%.
Investors are watching how U.S. retailers fare with the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season with Black Friday, given growing concerns that spending could slow under pressure from declining savings, rising of credit card debt and inflation.
The latest quarterly results from a host of retailers, from Walmart to Best Buy to Saks Fifth Avenue, suggested weakening consumer spending appetite even as inflation eases and employment remains strong.
As price pressures ease, investors have become more optimistic that the Federal Reserve can finish raising interest rates to control inflation and could even consider cutting rates.
Federal Reserve officials have said the outlook for the economy remains uncertain and that rate decisions will depend on incoming reports. The Fed will get another big update next week when the government releases its October report on a key measure of inflation tracked by the central bank.
In other trading on Friday, benchmark U.S. crude oil lost 47 cents to $76.63 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Brent crude, the international pricing standard, rose 23 cents to $81.50 a barrel.
The US dollar fell to 149.40 Japanese yen from 149.54 yen. The euro was unchanged at $1.0906.
