·         The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 20.88 points, or 0.08 percent, to 25,995.87, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 10.55 points, or 0.37 percent, to 2,878.05 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 72.45 points, or 0.91 percent, to7,922.73.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq declined on Thursday as the possibility of more U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports loomed, while tech stocks stumbled, led by chipmakers and concerns about increased regulation of social media companies.

·         Asia markets were lower in the morning of the last trading day of the week, amid a possible escalation in the U.S.-China trade war later today.

·         The Nikkei 225 fell by 0.97 percent in early trade, following the release of a Wall Street Journal article where U.S. President Donald Trump hinted to columnist James Freeman that Japan could be next in the trade cross hairs of America.

·         South Korea's Kospi also saw a decline of 0.7 percent, with chipmaker SK Hynix down by about 4.9 percent following the recent sell-off in U.S. tech stocks.

·         The ongoing U.S.-China trade war could also see an escalation today amid already tense relations between the two economic powerhouses, following reports which said the Trump administration could place tariffs on an additional $200billion worth of Chinese goods as soon as a public comment period ends at 12:00 p.m. HK/SIN today. China's commerce ministry has said the country would retaliate if the U.S. imposes new tariffs.

Reference: Reuters, CNBC