The Kospi in Seoul, South Korea is set to end the trading week on a high note and was up about 1.4 percent at lunchtime. The stock market, which was closed at the start of the week, has had a period of steady gains and the Kospi is up about 18 percent over the past month.
Meanwhile, trading in Tokyo was choppier on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 was down 1.1 percent and the broader Topix was down 1.4 percent. The decline coincides with the announcement that Japan's inflation rate has fallen below 2 percent for the first time in years, CNBC reports.
In China, the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges were closed. Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 0.6 percent.
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