Asian stocks fell on Friday, retreating from four-month highs after data out of China raised concerns over deflationary pressures building in the world's second biggest economy.
The bearish impulse appeared likely to be passed on to European stocks, with spreadbetters expecting Britain's FTSE to open 0.1 percent lower, Germany's DAX 0.3 percent down and France's CAC 0.2 percent down.
Data released on Friday showed China's factory-gate inflation slowed for a seventh straight month in January to its weakest pace since September 2016 amid cooling domestic demand.
The broader equity markets had already been under pressure after Thursday's weak U.S. retail sales figures triggered fresh doubts about the strength of the world's largest economy.
That offsetting some cautious optimism over trade talks in Beijing between the United States and China.
Also casting a shadow, the White House said U.S. President Donald Trump will declare a national emergency to try to obtain funds for his promised U.S.-Mexico border wall, drawing immediate criticism from Democrats.
Aside from the data, immediate focus was on a meeting on Friday between the Trump administration's top two negotiators and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing.
There has been no decision to extend a March 1 deadline for a deal that could forestall a further increase in U.S. tariffs on some imports from China, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said on Thursday.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan, which had scaled a four-month high midweek on factors including expectations for reduced U.S.-China trade tensions, was down 1 percent.
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