Australian shares are expected to slip on Friday in line with Wall Street losses as heightened tensions between China and the United States is expected to weigh on sentiment.
U.S. National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow said on Thursday that Hong Kong may now need to be treated like China when it comes to trade and other financial matters, given Beijing's move to enact a new law Washington warns would undermine the city's autonomy.
The local share price index futures <YAPcm1> fell 0.3%, a 15.1-point discount to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index <.AXJO> close. The benchmark rose 1.3% on Thursday.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index <.NZ50> rose 0.5% in early trade.
(Reporting by Shreya Mariam Job in Bengaluru; Editing by Sandra Maler)
