·       Asian shares came under renewed pressure on Friday as a report U.S. President Donald Trump was preparing to step up a trade war with Beijing sent Chinese stocks lower and partially erased gains made in this week’s global rally.

European shares are expected to open lower, with major European stock index futures STXEc1 FFIc1 FCEc1 FDXc1 falling 0.2 percent in early trade.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS dropped 0.7 percent, for monthly drop of 1.5 percent.

The index has underperformed MSCI ACWI .MIWD00000PUS, a gauge of the world’s 47 markets, for four months in a row as Sino-U.S. trade worries hit Chinese shares.

·       The Shanghai composite index .SSEC had fallen to near a 2-year low hit earlier in the month but recovered some of the day's losses later in the session.

“China’s stock market has priced in a very bad situation as if the Chinese economy was going into a hard landing, which I don’t think will be the case,” said Chi Lo, an economist at BNP Paribas Asset Management.

·       Japan's Nikkei .N225 closed down 0.02 percent.

U.S. S&P500 e-mini futures ESc1 were slightly weaker a day after the S&P 500 .SPX lost 0.44 percent from Wednesday's record close of 2,914.

·       Japanese stocks are forecast to rise 5 percent over the rest of this year, with stronger corporate profits expected to underpin sentiment, but selling by foreign investors could cap the upside, a Reuters poll found.

Reference: Reuters, CNBC