Tokyo, Japan (BBN)-Asian markets traded mixed on Friday as investors kept a close eye on developments in Europe and hopes for a deal with Greece.
Greece said it will talk to creditors about fixing its debt problem when another round of meetings begins later today, reports BBC.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 was down 0.4% at 17,912.29 after closing at its highest level since July 2007 on Thursday.
The dollar was at 118.93 yen, strengthening from Thursday’s 120.27.
A stronger yen is a disadvantage for Japanese exporters as it makes their products more expensive abroad.
Chinese shares opened higher, following US gains overnight but investors remained cautious ahead of a long Chinese New Year holiday.
The Shanghai Composite was up 0.4% to 3,186.56, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was higher 0.5% to 24,537.84.
AUSTRALIA LEADING GAINS
In Australia, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 was up 2.1% to 5,864.9 after closing down for the fourth consecutive time in the previous session.
Shares of mining heavyweight Rio Tinto jumped over 6% after it announced it would return $2bn to shareholders.
But, shares of Australia’s biggest gold miner, Newcrest, were down 0.7% after it reported that its half-year underlying profit was down $7m Australian dollars ($5.4m; £3.5m) from a year ago.
South Korean shares also headed higher with the Kospi index up 0.3% to 1,947.57.
Investors ignored data that showed the country’s exports in January fell 0.7% from a year ago, weaker than a preliminary 0.4% decline reported earlier.
BBN/ANS-13Feb15-10:00am (BST)