Asian equity markets ended mostly higher on Friday, even as oil prices dipped and data showed growth in profits at Chinese industrial firms slowed in April compared to the previous month. Industrial profits grew 4.2 percent year-over-year, much slower than the 11.1 percent expansion seen in March. Japanese stocks ended at a one-month high, amid the growing prospect that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe would delay by several years a sales tax hike scheduled to go into effect next April. Hong Kong shares closed at a three-week high, buoyed by hopes that Beijing will soon expand cross-border investment opportunities between Hong Kong and China. However, Chinese shares ended lower on growth worries after a government report showed that China's industrial profits increased at a slower pace in April.
| Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
| Shanghai Composite | 2,821.05 | -1.40 | -0.05 |
| Hang Seng | 20,576.77 | 179.66 | 0.88 |
| Jakarta Composite | 4,814.73 | 30.17 | 0.63 |
| KLSE Composite | 1,637.19 | 6.10 | 0.37 |
| Nikkei 225 | 16,834.84 | 62.38 | 0.37 |
| Straits Times | 2,802.51 | 29.20 | 1.05 |
| KOSPI Composite | 1,969.17 | 12.11 | 0.62 |
| Taiwan Weighted | 8,463.61 | 69.49 | 0.83 |