Nikkei 225 added 0.4% to 40,316.56, the Kospi rose 0.1%, to 2,748.55, the Shanghai Composite index added 0.5% to 3,025.56, Taiex gained 0.4%, and the SET advanced 0.3%
Asian shares were mostly up Friday in quiet holiday trading, with markets closed in Hong Kong, Sydney, Singapore and India, among other places.
Many financial markets are shut on Friday for Good Friday. In India, markets were shut for the Holi holiday.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 added 0.4% to 40,316.56 and the Kospi in Seoul rose 0.1%, to 2,748.55. The Shanghai Composite index added 0.5% to 3,025.56.
Taiwan’s Taiex gained 0.4%. In Bangkok, the SET advanced 0.3%.
On Thursday, the S&P 500 added 0.1%, to its all-time high set a day before and ended at 5,254.35. It gained 10.2% in the first quarter.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1% to 39,807.37 and likewise set a record. The Nasdaq composite slipped 0.1% to 16,379.46.
Oil prices jumped. U.S. benchmark crude oil added $1.82 to $83.17 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international standard, soared $1.59 to $87.00 per barrel.
The U.S. dollar slid to 151.30 Japanese yen from 151.38 yen. The euro edged lower, to $1.0775 from $1.0790.
The U.S. stock market has been on a nearly unstoppable run since late October, and the S&P 500 just capped its fifth consecutive winning month. It has jumped as the U.S. economy has remained remarkably solid despite high interest rates meant to get inflation under control.
And with inflation hopefully still cooling from its peak, the Fed has indicated it will likely reduce interest rates several times later this year.
Most stocks scrambled higher during the quarter, led by companies riding Wall Street’s continued frenzy around artificial-intelligence technology. Nvidia, whose chips are powering much of the AI rush, soared 82.5%.
The only stock in the S&P 500 to do better was Super Micro Computer, which just joined the index recently because it has also been caught up in AI mania. The firm, which sells server and storage systems used in AI and other computing, saw its stock surge 255.3%.
They more than made up for stumbles during the quarter by companies such as Tesla and Boeing. Tesla dropped 29.3% to continue its volatile run, having more than doubled last year. Boeing, meanwhile, dipped 26% as concerns mounted about its safety and manufacturing quality.
