Asian markets settled mixed on Friday. Japanese shares rose amidst Wall Street’s gains overnight followed by big gains in chipmakers in the United States. Japan’s Nikkei 225 briefly crossed 41,000 to hit a fresh all-time high as Japan’s inflation accelerated in February. Data showing that Japan’s headline inflation rate for February came in at 2.8%, climbing from the 2.2% seen in February. Core inflation was at 2.8% compared with 2% in the previous month. Meanwhile, Chinese property and technology firms weighed on Shanghai and Hong Kong markets.
| Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
| Shanghai Composite | 3,048.03 | -29.08 | -0.95 |
| Hang Seng | 16,499.47 | -363.63 | -2.20 |
| Jakarta Composite | 7,350.15 | 11.80 | 0.16 |
| KLSE Composite | 1,542.39 | 0.98 | 0.06 |
| Nikkei 225 | 40,888.43 | 72.77 | 0.18 |
| Straits Times | 3,217.97 | -2.40 | -0.07 |
| KOSPI Composite | 2,748.56 | -6.30 | -0.23 |
| Taiwan Weighted | 20,228.43 | 29.34 | 0.15 |
