HONG KONG (AP) Asian stocks tracked losses in the U.S. on renewed concern the Federal Reserve will start scaling back stimulus earlier than expected after a report showed that the U.S. economy grew faster than predicted.
Investors in Asia were also hanging back on Friday ahead of a weekend meeting in Beijing where China's communist leaders are expected to lay out their long-term plan for the world's No. 2 economy.
Japan's Nikkei 225 sank 0.9 percent to 14,104.73 while Seoul's Kospi dropped 0.5 percent to 1993.23. Hong Kong's Hang Seng slid 0.6 percent at 22,757.14 while in mainland China the Shanghai Composite fell 0.5 percent to 2,117.87.
Australia's S&P ASX 200 fell 0.7 percent to 5,396.90. Benchmarks in Singapore and Taiwan also fell.
Asian stocks followed Wall Street lower after the release of quarterly U.S. economic data that showed the U.S. economy grew 2.8 percent in the third quarter, nearly a percentage point faster than economists had predicted. That led many investors to believe the Fed would start pulling back, or tapering, its bond buying program, with some predicting it could happen as early as December. The Fed is buying $85 billion in bonds every month to hold down interest rates to spur hiring and borrowing.