Asian stock markets mostly rise as Tokyo gains and Seoul falls

Asian stock markets are mostly up on Friday. In Tokyo, Japan, the Nikkei 225 climbed 0.8 percent, while the broader Topix rose 0.9 percent.

South Korea's Kospi, however, is falling, and was down 1.1 percent at lunchtime. American Nvidia climbed in connection with Thursday's quarterly report, but South Korean companies that rose during the AI wave do not appear to be following suit. Both Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix - which manufactures memory, among other things - are down, 2.2 and 1.9 percent respectively.

In China, the Shenzhen Stock Exchange also fell slightly, down 0.1 percent. The Shanghai Stock Exchange remained slightly above unchanged. The Hong Kong-based Hang Seng rose 0.5 percent.