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Hong Kong - Most Asia markets sank again on Friday morning at the end of a painful week for global equities defined by an oil rout that analysts warn could continue for some time.
Crude prices extended losses and have now tanked more than 10% since last Friday when the OPEC cartel decided against capping output despite an oversupply and anaemic global demand.
Dealers are also keeping tabs on next week's Federal Reserve policy meeting, where it is expected to hike interest rates for the first time in nine years.
"It's difficult for shares to move much ahead of the Federal Reserve meeting," Hitoshi Asaoka, a senior strategist at Mizuho Trust & Banking Co. in Tokyo told Bloomberg News.
"Oil prices haven't stabilised yet so we can easily enter a wait-and-see mood. I expect the market to continue to be unstable."
The OPEC decision last week has sent oil to around seven year lows, and with the global economy struggling, China's growth subdued and the dollar tipped to strengthen further, the commodity is expected to remain beaten down until possibly 2017.
Hong Kong was down 0.5% - having falling in the previous six sessions - with CNOOC and PetroChina leading energy firms lower.
But troubled mining giant Glencore surged more than eight percent after saying in London it would accelerate a plan to reduce debt and slashing its 2016 capital budget to $3.8bn from $5 billion previously.
London-listed shares in the firm ended up 7.7%.
On other markets Shanghai slipped 0.9%, Sydney was 0.2% lower and Seoul sank 0.2%.
Traders seemed to brush off gains in New York, which capped off three days of losses.
However, bargain-buying and a weaker yen helped Tokyo rally 1% by the break after three-straight losses that led the Nikkei to a one-month low.
The dollar edged up against its major rivals after suffering selling for most of the week, with the Fed meeting coming within a week and US monetary policy expected to be tightened.
The greenback was up at more than ¥122 although it is still down from the levels above ¥123 seen on Monday.
And the euro drifted towards $1.09 from above $1.10 in Asia on Thursday but it has held most of the gains made after the European Central Bank last Thursday announced a stimulus revision that fell well short of expectations.
