TOKYO -- Tokyo stocks closed lower Friday as investors opted to take profits following the Nikkei's five-day winning streak on concerns the market may be overheating.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average lost 179.08 points, or 0.62 percent, from Thursday to close the day at 28,519.18. (Japan-Stock)

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SEOUL -- South Korea continued to face economic uncertainty over the COVID-19 resurgence here, a government report said Friday.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance said in its monthly economic assessment report, called Green Book, that the economy was recently faced with a continued uncertainty from the weakened domestic demand and employment, caused by the COVID-19 resurgence and the tightened social-distancing rules. (South Korea-Economic Uncertainty-Coronavirus)

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SYDNEY -- The Australian share market faded in late trade and finished flat on Friday, with weakness from healthcare stocks offsetting strong gains from tech and mining giants.

At the market close the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was up 0.10 points or 0.00 percent at 6,715.40, while the broader All Ordinaries index was up 4.10 points or 0.06 percent at 6,986.80. (Australia-Stocks)

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WASHINGTON -- U.S. President-elect Joe Biden on Thursday unveiled a 1.9-trillion-dollar COVID-19 relief bill, which includes another round of direct payments to individuals, aid for state and local governments, increased unemployment benefits, as well as more funding for testing and vaccine distribution.

Calling the recently approved 900-billion-dollar bipartisan relief package "an important first step," Biden said in a speech in Wilmington, Delaware Thursday night that "we need more action, more bipartisanship, and we need to move fast." (US-Biden-Relief)