Asia markets mixed _

Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed on Friday as the nominee to lead the Bank of Japan Kazuo Ueda spoke at a confirmation hearing, reports CNBC.

The Nikkei 225 ended 1.29 per cent higher at 27,452.48, and the Topix climbed 0.67 per cent. Japan's core inflation in January rose 4.2 per cent, the highest since 1981.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was down1.56 per cent, and the Hang Seng Tech Index dropped 3.11 per cent. In mainland China, the Shenzhen Component fell 0.82 per cent, ending Friday at 11,787.45 and the Shanghai Composite was 0.62 per cent lower to end at 3,267.16.

In earnings, OCBC was among the three major Singapore banks that posted a record profit for 2022 alongside DBS and UOB. Singapore's January manufacturing output fell 2.7 per cent on an annualized basis, in contrast to the expectation of a 2.9 per cent rise.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.3 per cent to close at 7,307. South Korea's Kospi fell 0.63 per cent to 2,423.61, while the Kosdaq finshed down 0.56 per cent at 778.88.

Overnight in the US, stocks closed higher amid volatile trading Thursday as investors remained concerned about the path of the Federal Reserve's rate hikes.