Asia markets rise in muted session

Stocks in Asia traded higher on Friday in a muted session as most markets were closed for a holiday in the wider Asia-Pacific region, reports CNBC.

The Nikkei 225 in Japan traded up 0.17 per cent to close at 27,518 and the Topix gained 0.21 per cent to close at 1,965.44. In South Korea, the Kospi gained 1.27 per cent to 2,490.41 and the Kosdaq rose 1.67 per cent to end the session at 880.07.

In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite was 0.45 per cent higher to 3,327.65 and the Shenzhen Component rose 0.86 per cent to 11,967.74. Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore and India were closed.

Investors will look ahead to the US non-farm payrolls report on Friday, which will help determine the path ahead for the Federal Reserve. It follows this week's ADP report which showed US private payrolls grew less than expected in March.

A Labour Department report this week also showed the number of available positions fell below 10 million in February for the first time in nearly two years. Job cuts have also soared nearly fivefold so far this year from a year ago.