Asian markets down with US, Japan, Britain in focus

HONG KONG: Asian shares turned lower Friday following losses in New York and Europe as traders fret over the state of the global economy, with potentially big market-moving events coming into focus.

After a healthy run of recent gains helped by rising oil prices, investors took a step back as the head of the European Central Bank (ECB) called for action to kick start eurozone growth -- which was taken as a sign its own arsenal is running low.