Japanese stocks jump more than 1% as other major markets close on Good Friday



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Electronic displays reflect current stock market trends as the financial world responds to the COVID-19 pandemic in Tokyo on March 16, 2020 in Tokyo, Japan.

Clive Rose | Getty Images

SINGAPORE – Japanese stocks surged on Friday morning after the S&P 500 hit a record-breaking overnight close on Wall Street.

The Nikkei 225 index jumped 1.21% in morning trading as shares of conglomerate Softbank Group jumped more than 3%. The Topix index rose 0.62%.

In South Korea, the Kospi index rose 0.92%.

Mainland China stocks also rose slightly, with the Shanghai composite trading above the flat line while the Shenzhen component gained 0.369%.

Major Asia-Pacific regional markets such as Australia, Hong Kong, India and Singapore are closed for Good Friday. Elsewhere, markets in the US and UK will also be closed for Good Friday.

Overnight in the US, the S&P 500 broke the 4,000 mark for the first time and jumped 1.18% to a new record high at 4,019.87. The highly technological Nasdaq Composite also jumped 1.76% to end its trading day at 13,480.11 while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 171.66 points to close at 33,153.21.

Currencies

The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 92.921 – above the 93.3 levels seen earlier in the week.

The Japanese yen traded at 110.64 per dollar, weakening from levels below 109.8 against the greenback earlier in the week. The Australian dollar changed hands at $ 0.7628, after yesterday’s rebound of less than $ 0.756.

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