Asian stocks mixed; major markets closed for Good Friday

Stocks in Asia were mixed on Friday, with major markets across the region closed for the Good Friday holiday.

Mainland Chinese shares were lower on the day. The Shanghai composite was down 1.04  percent to about 2,796.63 while the Shenzhen composite dropped 1.946 percent to approximately 1,721.22. The Shenzhen component fell 1.57 percent to 10,298.41.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.79 percent to close at 19,498.50 while the Topix index dipped 0.92 percent to end its trading day at 1,430.04.

South Korea’s Kospi added 1.33 percent to close at 1,860.70.

Samsung Biologics shares soared 16.82 percent after the firm announced Thursday that it had entered into an agreement with Vir Biotechnology for large-scale manufacturing of SARS-COV-2 antibodies for potential coronavirus treatment.

The deal is valued at around $362 million, according to a statement from the two companies.

Markets in Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore and India were all closed for the Good Friday holiday.

The Japanese yen traded at 108.36 per dollar after seeing levels above 108.8 yesterday.

The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.6359 after rising from levels below $0.62 earlier this week.

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