2013.08.3005:47:19UTC+00Asian stocks fluctuates in Friday action

Asian stocks fluctuate in choppy exchange Friday on caution ahead of the month’s end and a long weekend in the U.S., with several major resource shares retreating after commodity prices declined on eased worries about a military confrontation in Syria.

Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average backslide 0.7%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was off 0.2%, while China’s Shanghai Composite was marginally greater, and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.3%.

All four benchmarks changed direction at least once during the morning.

Stocks on Wall Street surge overnight as data showing the U.S. economy expanded more rapidly than previously assumed in the second quarter trumped concerns that the upbeat data may lead the Federal Reserve to trim the pace of its bond purchases soon.

U.S. markets are due to close Monday for the Labor Day holiday.

Oil and metal prices depreciate meanwhile, on assumptions the U.S. and its allies weren’t likely to immediately launch a military strike versus Syria, where pro-government forces reportedly used chemical weapons against civilians recently.

“News that the U.K. House of Commons has voted against military action in Syria, and reports that the U.S. is finding it difficult to marshal conclusive evidence that the [Syrian] regime was directly responsible for chemical attacks, have seen the risk premium in markets like gold and oil wound back,” said CMC Markets chief market analyst Ric Spooner.

In the resources sector, Inpex Corp. relinquished 2.2% in Tokyo, and Cnooc Ltd. shed 0.8% in Hong Kong, while in Shanghai, PetroChina Co. dropped 0.9%, and Zijin Mining Group Co. missed 2.6%.

Shares of Rio Tinto Ltd. gave up 0.7% in Sydney following a report from The Australian newspaper that the miner has delayed targeted production at the Simandou iron-ore project in Guinea by three years, as African development plans made during boom years continue to unwind.

But shares of Evolution Mining Ltd. spiked 3.6% as the gold producer stated that it still plans to pay a year-end dividend despite swinging to a full-year net loss.

Chinese banking shares was damaged with sharp declines amid worries that bad loans could rise in coming quarters, although two of the nation’s biggest lenders — Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. and Bank of China Ltd.— displayed an increase in half-yearly profits.

Shares of ICBC downgrade 1%, and those of BOC slumped 1.2% in Hong Kong.

The pullback in Tokyo came even as official data released before the stock market opening in Tokyo showed core consumer prices in the country, a measure that excludes volatile fresh-food prices, hike 0.7% in July from the year ago month.

The data provided evidence the Bank of Japan’s unprecedented financial easing was yielding results in its effort to take the nation out from an era of declining financial values.