Asia stocks rise on mixed US economic data

Asia Pacific stocks rose on Friday following the release of mixed U.S. economic data overnight.

South Korean markets attempted to bounce from Thursday’s losses as the Kospi gained 1.34 percent  to close at 2,304.59. Shares in the country have seen a choppy trading week as South Korea has seen a recent jump in coronavirus cases.

Mainland Chinese stocks were higher on the day. The Shanghai composite advanced 0.5 percent to about 3,380.68 while the Shenzhen component jumped 1.179 percent to around 13,478. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 1.3 percent to close at 25,113.84.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.17 percent to close at 22,920.30 while the Topix index added 0.3 percent to end its trading day at 1,604.06. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 closed 0.14 percent lower at 6,111.20.

Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index gained 0.9%