Asian shares were mixed on Friday
Asian shares were mixed in Friday afternoon trade as investors awaited the release of Chinese trade data for March. Stronger U.S. economic data helped offset some concerns about global growth.
Asian Shares
- MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was barely higher, up 0.03 percent.
- Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index up 0.7 percent.
- Japan’s Nikkei stock index gained 0.1 percent.
- Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.05 percent to 26,143.05.
Currency Markets
- The dollar was up less than 0.1 percent against the yen at 111.73.
- The euro gained 0.27 percent on the day to buy $1.1280.
- The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was down 0.1 percent at 97.047.
Commodities
- U.S. crude ticked up 0.27 percent at $63.75 a barrel.
- Brent crude was up 0.2 percent at $70.97 per barrel.
- Gold was slightly higher, having fallen more than 1 percent on Thursday to break below the key $1,300.
- Spot gold was trading at $1,293.30 per ounce.