Asian markets are exhibiting mixed trend in the early deals on Friday, with China in focus after the country's banking regulator sought more information on credit risks linked to loans to major companies that bought major assets abroad. Meanwhile, the Japanese market is little changed following the mixed cues from Wall Street and as crude oil prices advanced overnight from ten-month lows. Among the other Asian markets, Malaysia, South Korea and Hong Kong are higher. Bucking the trend, Shanghai, Singapore, and Taiwan are lower. The markets in Indonesia are closed in observance of Eid-ul-Fitr.
Nikkei 225 added 19.25 points or 0.1% to 20,129.76, Hang Seng gained 12.57 points or 0.05% to 25,687.10, KOSPI Index increased 4.22 points or 0.18% to 2,374.59, and FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI was up by 0.48 points or 0.03% to 1,777.91.
On the flip side, Shanghai Composite declined 23.23 points or 0.74% to 3,124.23, Taiwan Weighted dropped 15.42 points or 0.15% to 10,383.64, and Straits Times was down by 10.39 points or 0.32% to 3,205.16.