Pro-democracy protesters in the city have called for yet more action over the weekend.

Shares in the region slipped on Friday (November 29), knocking a global stock index off its path to hitting an all-time peak.

Investors fear a new U.S. law backing the protesters could torpedo efforts to end the U.S.-China trade war.

Beijing warned the U.S. on Thursday (November 28) that it would take "firm counter measures" in response to the legislation.

The MSCI All Country world index which tracks shares in 49 countries, was down nearly 0.4%.

Hong Kong led the dip with losses of 2%.

While MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell more than 1%.

South Korean shares lost 1.4% and Japan's Nikkei eased 0.5%.

The nerves that had gnawed at Asian markets, travelled briefly to Europe too.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index was down 0.2% in morning trade - although still on track for its best week in three.

Frankfurt-listed sharesfell 0.3%, as data showed retail sales in Germany dipped in October ahead of the Christmas shopping season.

German shares have recovered in the past two months though, as the latest batch of data signalled that a downturn in Europe's powerhouse could be bottoming out.