In today’s early trading session, Asian stock markets were mostly higher despite most of the markets observing the Good Friday holiday. This follows mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, with traders reluctant to make substantial moves ahead of the releaser of US inflation data later in the day, which could influence interest rate outlooks. 

Traders are also anticipating remarks from US Fed Chair Jerome Powell during a moderated discussion later in the day, which will take place at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco’s Macroeconomic and Monetary Policy Conference. 

Meanwhile, the Australian stock market is closed in observance of Good Friday. Despite this, Australian markets concluded with a significant increase yesterday. 

Recovering from significant drops in the previous session, the Japanese stock market showed significant gains on Friday, influenced by mixed signals from Wall Street overnight. Nikkei 225 index has surpassed the 40,400 level, with gains across most sectors, particularly by index heavyweights, exporters, and financial stocks. Traders are also responding to a range of mixed domestic economic data. 

The Nikkei 225 indes closed the morning trading session at the day’s high of 40,466.82, marking a gain of 298.75 points or 0.74%. Meanwhile, Japanese stocks experienced a significant decline in yesterday’s trading session. 

South Korea’s Kospi slightly increased by 0.03% to 2,746.63, while the Hang Seng index surged by 0.91% to 16,541.42. 

The Shanghai Composite index also went up by 1.01% at 3,041.17, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose by 0.99% at 7,896.9.

In other parts of Asia, China, Malaysia, and Taiwan are up by 0.3% to 0.6%. Meanwhile, markets in New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Indonesia are all closed in observance of Good Friday.