Asia markets traded mostly lower on Friday, following U.S. losses on the back of sliding oil prices.

Asia markets traded mostly lower on Friday, following U.S. losses on the back of sliding oil prices.

Most markets were ahead on Wednesday, after the Chinese government released official data suggesting the economy was growing in line with expectations.

Source: Wikipedia

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 added 0.21% to finish at 16,998.91, with electronics maker Sharp surging 

10.64%.

Australia's ASX 200 fell 0.56 percent in mid-morning trade, with most sectors trading lower. The energy sector fell 1.08 percent, while the heavily-weighted financials sector was down 0.08 percent.

New Zealand's NZX 50 was down 0.20 percent, while in South Korea, the Kospi fell 0.25 percent.

Japanese shares bucked the generally downward trend, with the Nikkei 225 index up slightly by 0.15 percent, with index-heavyweight Fast Retailing, the owner of clothing brand Uniqlo, gaining 0.80 percent.

Hong Kong's stock market said it would delay opening due to a typhoon warning.

It came after the Nikkei reported the company was set to report its first group operating profit in three years.

Sharp later poured cold water on the reports, however, saying its consolidated net sales for the year to 31 March 2017 were likely to be lower year-on-year.

Mitsubishi Motors also surged 7.85% after it was reported Nissan Motor chief Carlos Ghosn will step in to chair the embattled carmaker.

Nissan also traded up on the news, by 0.52%, as it prepared to take on around a third of Mitsubishi.

The yen was stronger on the greenback, and was last trading 0.42% ahead at JPY 103.43 per $1.

Markets on the mainland were little changed despite a slew of data during the day - the Shanghai Composite was virtually flat, adding 0.05% to 5,435.36, while the Shenzhen Composite lost 0.18%.

Figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics showed a 6.7% uptick in the country’s gross domestic product year-on-year for the July-September quarter, and 1.8% growth quarter-on-quarter.

Spot gold was down 0.2 percent at $1,263.50 an ounce, although it was on track for a 1 percent gain on the week.