Asian stocks rise – Bloomberg HT

Investors in Asia will watch closely as the Bank of Japan wraps up its first monetary policy meeting today, chaired by new BOJ chief Kazuo Ueda.

Japanese markets Nikkei 225 rose 0.49 percent and Topix gained 0.55 percent. Japan’s unemployment rate also came in at 2.8 percent for March, above economists’ expectations.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 South Korean Kospi rose 0.13 percent, while the Kosdaq fell 0.8 percent.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.77 percent, while the Hang Seng Tech index rose 1.41 percent. All mainland Chinese markets were up, with the Shenzhen Component Index up 0.8 percent and the Shanghai Composite Index up 0.67 percent.