Asian stocks rise in quiet holiday trading

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A Chinese investor uses his smartphone as he monitors stock prices at a brokerage house in Beijing, Friday, April 19, 2019. Asian stock indexes rose moderately in quiet holiday trading on Good Friday as some markets were closed. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Asian stock indexes rose moderately in quiet holiday trading on Good Friday as some markets were closed.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 edged up 0.5% in early trading to 22,191.98. South Korea's Kospi rose 0.3% to 2,221.1. The Shanghai Composite gained 0.6% to 3,269.59.

Some markets remain closed for a national holiday, including in the U.S., Hong Kong, Australia and parts of Europe.

Overnight, major U.S. stock indexes capped the holiday shortened week with slight gains, although the marginal upward move was not enough to keep the benchmark S&P 500 index from snapping a string of three straight weekly gains.

The S&P 500 gained 4.58 points, or 0.2%, to 2,905.03. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 110 points, or 0.4%, to 26,559.54. The Nasdaq composite inched 1.98 points higher, or less than 0.1%, to 7,998.06. The Russell 2000 index of small-cap dropped 1.85 points, or 0.1%, to 1,565.75.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude oil added 7 cents to $64.07 a barrel. It rose 0.4% to settle at $64 per barrel Thursday. Brent crude, the international standard, added 0.5% to $71.97 per barrel.

CURRENCIES: The dollar rose slightly to 111.92 Japanese yen from 111.89 yen late Thursday. The euro weakened to $1.1241 from $1.1258.

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