Australian shares fell on Friday, as investors feared an escalation in US-China trade frictions and sold telecom shares that advanced a day earlier on a merger deal announced by TPG and Vodafone's Australian unit.
The S&P/ASX 200 index closed 0.5 percent lower at 6,319.5, but added 1.2 percent for the week.
Telecom stocks suffered the heaviest losses, a day after rising as TPG Telecom and Hutchison Telecommunications (Australia), Vodafone Group's Australian unit, agreed to merge into a larger third player in the sector.
TPG dropped more than 7 percent while Hutchison plunged more than 25 percent.
Telstra, which gained on Thursday, shed 4 percent. It faces a review into its copper network by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
Bloomberg reported that US President Donald Trump is ready to impose tariffs on $200 billion more in Chinese imports as soon as a public comment period on the plan ends next week.
Global miners BHP and Rio Tinto fell 1.7 percent and 0.6 percent, respectively.
The only sector eking out some gains was health care. The weaker Aussie dollar helped prop up shares in a sector reliant on exports and overseas operations.
Primary Health Care and Ramsay Health Care topped the gains, up 3 percent and 2.2 percent.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.3 percent, or 26.68 points to 9,313.2, but closed the week 1.7 percent higher. It was the market's fourth straight weekly gain.
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