Asian markets were trading mixed on Friday morning as markets in Hong Kong were weak over concerns of further tightening in Beijing, but Japanese shares rallied on strong earnings.
US markets advanced to multi year highs on upbeat corporate earnings which overcame weaker economic data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged to three year high, up 0.6% at 12,763 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.1%. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index closed flat 1,360.
Accrosss Asia the Nikkei Stock Average advanced 1.6% following strong fourth quarter results, shrugging of reports of 15.3% decline in industrial production in March against the previous month.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.4% led by losses in Chinese banks and China's Shanghai Composite index was trading flat at 2,892. South Korea's Kospi Composite was down 0.9%, Singapore's Strait Times edged lower by 0.3% and Taiwan's weighted index was flat at 9038.