Most Asian stock traded lower due to comments by St. Louis Fed President James Bullard. He told Fox Business Network on Thursday that the Fed' interest rate hike by the end of the first quarter in 2015 will be appropriate, if the U.S. economy grows 3% in the next four quarters.
Japan's national CPI excluding fresh food increased 3.4% in May, in line with expectations, after a 3.2% gain in April.
The Japanese unemployment rate declined to 3.4% in May, exceeding expectations for 3.6%, after 3.6% in April.
Household spending in Japan dropped 8%, missing expectations for a 1.9% decline in May, after a 4.6% decrease in April.
Retail sales in Japan decreased 0.4% in May, after a 4.3% decline in April. Analysts had expected a 1.9% decline.
Indexes on the close:
Nikkei 225 15,095 -213.49 -1.39%
Hang Seng 23,221.52 +23.69 +0.10%
Shanghai Composite 2,036.51 -2.17 -0.11%
Oracle Corp. Japan declined 5.1% after missing its operating-profit forecast estimates.