Asian stocks decline, China benchmark down 0.25%

Asian stocks declined on Friday as U.S. private-sector job reports signaled weakness in the country's labor market and customs data showed Chinese exports unexpectedly fell in October after months of frontloading U.S. orders to beat President Donald Trump's tariffs.

Traders also weighed cautious comments from Federal Reserve officials expressing hesitation about continuing with further interest rate cuts.

China's Shanghai Composite index ended down 0.25 percent at 3,997.56 amid mixed catalysts.

Markets showed little reaction to official data that showed China's exports contracted in October, hit by a 25 percent drop in shipments to the United States.

Data showed exports fell 1.1 percent year-on-year last month, marking the first drop in shipments since February following an 8.3 percent increase in September.

Imports rose 1 percent last month from the year before, compared with 7.4 percent growth in September.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 0.92 percent to 26,241.83 on concerns about stretched tech valuations.

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