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Asia Markets

Stocks rise in Japan and China; most other major markets closed for holiday

A child plays beneath cherry blossoms and the Tokyo Skytree, Japan's tallest structure, on Thursday in Tokyo.

AFP via Getty Images

Markets in Japan and mainland China gained Friday, following another record day on Wall Street, as most other major global markets were closed for the Good Friday holiday.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 NIK, +1.58% rose 1.1%, with SoftBank 9984, +4.22% rising more than 3%. The Shanghai Composite SHCOMP, +0.52% edged 0.4% higher, while the smaller-cap Shenzhen Composite 399106, +0.89% advanced 1%. South Korea’s Kospi 180721, +0.82% gained 0.7% and stocks inched higher in Malaysia FBMKLCI, +0.13%. Markets in Hong Kong, Australia, Singapore and Taiwan were closed for the holiday.

On Thursday, the S&P 500 index SPX, +1.18% finished above 4,000 for the first time, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.52% and the Nasdaq Composite COMP, +1.76% each posted gains.

U.S. exchanges will be closed Friday, and bond trading will have an abbreviated day, closing at noon Eastern.