Shares in Asia-Pacific were mixed on Friday, as investors in the region continued to assess the risk from simmering tensions between Ukraine and Russia.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index gave back 110.8 points, or 0.4%, to close out the week at 27,122.07.
The ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis is at a pivotal moment, with Kyiv accusing pro-Moscow separatists of attacking a village near the border.
Fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine have driven investors toward safe-haven assets such as gold. Spot gold briefly crossed $1,900 an ounce earlier before losing some of those gains, last sitting at $1,892 per ounce.
The Japanese yen, also commonly seen as a safe-haven asset, traded at 115.15 per U.S. dollar — still stronger than levels above 115.6 seen against the greenback earlier this week.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index crumbled 465.06 points, or 1.9%, to 24,327.71.
The Australian dollar was at $0.7209, above an earlier low of $0.7175.
In other markets
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 added 22.07 points, or 0.5%, to 4,651.24
In Singapore, the Straits Times index folded 12.67 points, or 0.4%, to 3,428.90
In Korea, the Kospi index squirted 0.43 points to 2,744.52.
In Taiwan, the Taiex index paled 36.22 points, or 0.2%, to 18,232.35
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 ditched 114.93 points, or 0.9%, to 12,141.89.
In Australia, the ASX 200 faded 74.46 points, or 1%, to 7,296.18.