Major Asia-Pacific markets traded mostly higher on Friday. The Japanese Nikkei 225 touched a new all-time high, reaching 39,990 points minutes before the close.
Data released today showed that Chinese factory activity contracted for the fifth consecutive month, standing at 49.1 in February, down slightly from the previous month's figure of 49.2.
Japan's Nikkei 225 grew by 1.92% or 751 points, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.61% at the close of their trading sessions. South Korea's Kospi decreased by 0.37% at 7:07 am CET. In mainland China, the Shenzhen Composite improved by 0.62% at 6:52 am CET, and the Shanghai Composite gained 0.31% at 7:08 am CET. On the other hand, Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose by 0.23%.
On the currency front, the dollar went up by 0.34% compared to the Japanese yen at 7:11 am CET, trading for ¥150.4275.
