Stocks in Asia-Pacific traded lower on Friday morning, as investors were waiting for China to release its industrial production and fixed asset investment data for April, CNBC News reported.
Japan's Nikkei 225 was 1.15 percent higher, while the Topix index rose slightly 0.8 percent. South Korea's Kospi gained 0.26 percent.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 also advanced 1.12 percent in early trade.
Overall in the region, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index was up 0.27 percent.
Meanwhile, on Wall Street, the main stock indexes closed positively on Thursday night, as certain US states are preparing to enter Phase 1 of reopening after the coronavirus lockdown. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 377.37 points higher at 23,625.34, while the S&P 500 gained 1.15 percent to close at 2,852.50. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite also rose slightly 0.9 percent to finish its trading day at 2,852.50.
