Asian markets mixed, dollar weakness drags on

Japanese benchmark Nikkei 225 finished down 0.35 per cent or 68.6 points at 19,521.59.
Australia's ASX 200 closed up 0.24 per cent or 13.8 points at 5,799.6.
In South Korea, the Kospi added 0.67 per cent or 14.5 points at 2,164.58 as the won weakened against the dollar.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson heads to Seoul today, as part of his visit to Asia. Tillerson said on Thursday in Japan that part of his visit was to find a "new approach" to deal with threats from North Korea.
China's Shanghai composite fell 0.97 per cent or 31.6 points to close at 3,237.31 and the Shenzhen composite slipped 0.81 per cent or 16.6 points at 2,029.73. Hong Kong's Hang Seng was flat by 3:05 pm HK/SIN.
Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong's flag carrier, was up 1.26 per cent after the company confirmed a Reuters report that it would target deep management cost cuts at its headquarters by 30 per cent. The airline reported its first full-year net loss last year since 2008.
China pledged a firm response if Japan were to interfere in the South China Sea, after Reuters reported on a Japanese plan to send its largest warship, the Izumo helicopter carrier, to the disputed waters.
The carrier is expected to make stops in Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines and Sri Lanka before joining the Malabar joint naval exercise with Indian and U.S. naval vessels in the Indian Ocean in July, Reuters reported. This would be Japan's biggest show of naval force in the region since World War II.
Over in Southeast Asia, Singapore's posted its strongest non-oil domestic exports (NODX) in February, up 21.5 per cent on-year. The February export figures beat a Reuters poll of an expected 12.8 per cent gain from the previous year.