- Stocks in Asia were mixed in morning trade.
- Major markets in Asia Pacific are closed for the Good Friday holiday, with Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore and India all closed for the day.
- Data released Friday showed Chinese consumer inflation rising in March on a year-on-year basis.
Stocks in Asia were mixed in Friday morning trade, with major markets across the region closed for the Good Friday holiday.
Mainland Chinese shares were lower in early trade, with the Shanghai composite down about 0.5% while the Shenzhen composite shed 0.751%.
Japan's Nikkei 225 shed earlier gains as it declined 0.4% in morning trade, with shares of FamilyMart dropping 4.94%. The Topix index dipped 0.8%.
South Korea's Kospi added 0.5%.
Markets in Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore and India are all closed for the Good Friday holiday.
Data released Friday showed Chinese consumer inflation rising in March on a year-on-year basis. China's consumer price index for March rose 4.3% year-on-year, according to the country's National Bureau of Statistics. Still, that was less than expectations of a 4.8% year-on-year increase by analysts in a Reuters poll.
Overnight stateside, the S&P 500 added 1.5% to close at 2,789.82 while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 285.80 points, or 1.2%, to end its trading day at 23,719.37. The Nasdaq Composite closed 0.8% higher at 8,153.58.
For the week, the S&P 500 surged 12.1%. That was its biggest one-week gain since 1974, when it rallied more than 14%. The Nasdaq had its best week since 2009, jumping 10.6%. The Dow soared more than 12% for one of its biggest weekly gains on record. U.S. stock markets are also closed on Friday for Good Friday.
Meanwhile, a historic production cut agreement between the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, known collectively as OPEC+, hit a snag after Mexico reportedly refused to agree to its share of the cuts.
The other members of OPEC+, led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, earlier in the day agreed to cuts that would take 10 million barrels per day offline as the coronavirus pandemic saps demand for crude. But after Mexico resisted its allocation, the meeting ended with no definitive agreement. Talks are now set to continue on Friday, according to a Bloomberg report citing sources familiar with the discussions.
Currencies
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was last at 99.604 after slipping from levels above 100.5 seen earlier in the trading week.
The Japanese yen traded at 108.52 per dollar after seeing levels above 108.8 yesterday. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.6322 after rising from levels below $0.62 earlier this week.
— CNBC's Fred Imbert and Pippa Stevens contributed to this report.
Source: cnbc.com
