Friday saw a general decline in Asian stocks, with South Korean shares rising following the Bank of Korea's interest rate drop and Chinese markets falling in expectation of further fiscal stimulus signals.

Wider markets were muted as uncertainty arose over the precise amount of interest rate cuts the Federal Reserve would make in the upcoming months owing to hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation statistics.

With Wall Street closing somewhat lower on Thursday due to the inflation statistics, expectations that the Fed will cut rates by a narrower margin in November were reinforced, and Asian markets followed suit.

With attention firmly fixed on the third-quarter results season, U.S. stock index futures moved higher during Asian trading.

China's indices dropped 1.5% to 2% on Thursday, losing territory during a tumultuous day as traders anticipated further indications on fiscal stimulus plans.

The financial ministry of China is scheduled to provide an overview of fiscal assistance for the economy during a briefing on Saturday. The announcement of the briefing came as investors demanded more focused fiscal measures and mainly rejected Beijing's most recent round of monetary stimulus.

Analysts project that China would implement fiscal measures totalling at least 2 trillion yuan ($283 billion), the majority of which are intended to support private spending.

A surge in stimulus had first sent Chinese markets to two-year highs. However, in recent sessions, this surge stopped as investors questioned Beijing's ability to supply more assistance.

One specific issue of dispute is that China has high levels of debt, which may restrict the amount of fiscal stimulus that can be implemented. Beijing's stimulus policies have likewise remained mainly conservative thus far.

Concerns about China affected markets throughout Asia. As the Nikkei 225 and TOPIX indices in Japan moved sideways, Australia's ASX 200 had a 0.1% decline.

With local economic growth slowing and inflation declining, the BOK lowered rates by 25 basis points to 3.25%, indicating a departure from its tight policy.

The BOK announced its first rate reduction in more than four years at this time, as it attempted to support the economy's stalling growth. It was also observed that a cooling home market required looser financial regulations throughout the nation.

(Sources: investing.com, reuters.com)