Asian stocks end mixed, China benchmark end marginally lower

Asian stocks ended mixed on Friday after the White House said a final decision on whether to support Israeli military action against Tehran could come within two weeks.

As the conflict entered the eighth day, Israel and Iran continued to fire missiles and drones at each other with full force.

Residents in southern Israel have been rocked by more Iranian missile strikes while Israel has continued to hit dozens of targets in Iran.

The dollar was on the back foot in Asian trade while gold prices were set for a weekly loss of about 2 percent.

Brent crude futures fell 2 percent but still headed for a strong weekly gain after a 12 percent surge the previous week.

 

China's Shanghai Composite finished marginally lower at 3,359.90 after a choppy session as the People's Bank of China left its benchmark lending rates steady, as expected, following recent easing measures. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index jumped 1.26 percent to 23,530.48.

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