Most of the Asian stock markets are trading higher in the early deals on Friday, tracking positive cues from Wall Street where stocks ended higher overnight on the back of some encouraging economic data. Easing concerns about the situation in Ukraine also contributed to the market's uptrend. However, gains are just modest in most of the markets in the region as investors tread somewhat cautiously ahead of the weekend. On the regional front, China’s Shanghai Composite rose, narrowing weekly losses for the benchmark index, as PetroChina jumped after reporting better-than-estimated profit and financial companies rallied.
Shanghai Composite climbed 15.81 points or 0.79% to 2,009.29, Hang Seng jumped 35.65 points or 0.17% to 21,217.81, KLSE Composite soared 1.58 points or 0.09% to 1,819.75, Straits Times rose by 17.84 points or 0.58% to 3,075.04, KOSPI Composite was up by 12.99 points or 0.68% to 1,932.51.
On the flip side, Jakarta Composite dropped by 4.66 points or 0.10% to 4,694.32 and Taiwan Weighted was down by 21.55 points or 0.25% to 8,575.78.
Japan stock market remained shut for the trade today for Vernal Equinox holiday.