Nikkei 225 closes lower by 0.41% at 23,410.63

A mixed day for Asian equities

Nikkei 16-10
Japanese stocks slumped to close the week, following the softer mood in Wall Street yesterday as US futures also keep more tepid in trading so far today.
But the Hang Seng is up by 1%, recouping early losses as Alibaba shares rebound strongly in anticipation of the Ant Group IPO, while Chinese equities keep more flat.
The overall risk mood remains more tepid and cautious, after having seen the strong wave of risk aversion early on yesterday countered by a late recovery in US stocks.
USD/JPY is keeping lower around 105.20-25 for the time being though but large expiries seen at 105.00 may well keep price action stuck ahead of North American trading.