SYDNEY, NSW, Australia stock markets had a quiet day in Asia on Friday, with modest falls across the board.
Markets in Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, India, and New Zealand were closed on Good Friday.
China was expected to lift official interest rates on Friday, but didn't do so. Stocks did not benefit. The Shanghai Composite fell by 14.40 points or 0.45 percent to 3,211, down 14.40 points or 0.45 percent. 24.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 gave up 78.81 points or 0.29 percent, to 27,093. 19.
The U.S. dollar went up on foreign exchange markets. After hitting a low of 1.0757 on Thursday, the euro moved higher but was still trading below the New York close on Thursday. The euro was last traded at 1.0807 in early European trading on Friday.
The British pound fell to 1.3060. The Japanese yen weakened to 126.52 at the beginning of the day. The Swiss franc was soft at 0.9423.
The Canadian dollar was up to 1.2599. The Australian and New Zealand dollars dropped to 0.7402 and 0.6776 respectively.
Overnight on Wall Street, the Nasdaq Composite fell 292.51 points or 2.14 percent to 13,351. 08.
The Standard and Poor's 500 fell 54.00 points or 1.21 percent to 4,392, down 54.00 points or 1.21 percent. 59.
The Dow Jones industrials fell by 113.36 points or 0.33 percent to 34,451. 23.