Asian markets gain, US stocks stuck in trade war doldrums

Asian shares were mostly higher in thin Good Friday trading after a bumpy ride on Wall Street, where the Dow industrials lost 1.3% as UnitedHealth shed more than a fifth of its value due to a weaker-than-expected profit report.

- 

US stock and bond markets will be closed on Friday. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 gained 18 to 34,730.28, while the Kospi in South Korea rose 0.5% to 2,483.42.

Taiwan's Taiex gained 0.3% and regional tech companies advanced after global heavyweight Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. reported a profit for the latest quarter that matched analysts' expectations. Perhaps more importantly, it also said it hasn't seen a drop-off in activity from its customers because of President Donald Trump's trade war, as some other companies have suggested.

Still, the company known as TSMC was cautious. "While we have not seen any changes in our customers' behaviour so far, uncertainties and risks from the potential impact from tariff policies exist," Chief Financial Officer Wendell Huang said. TSMC's stock that trades in the United States added O.1% on Thursday.

The Shanghai Composite index fell O.1% to 3,276.73. Bangkok's SET rose O.6%. Many other markets were closed Friday for holidays ahead of Easter. On Thursday, the S&P 500 edged up by just O.1%, even though three of every four stocks climbed in the index.

The Nasdaq composite slipped O.1% in a mostly steadier performance following its selloff the day before.

Nvidia weighed on the market after sinking a second straight day following its disclosure that new export limits on chips to China could hurt its first-quarter results by $5.5 billion. It sank 2.9% and was the second-heaviest weight on the S&P 500.