07:08 AM EDT, 05/02/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Asian stock markets rose Friday amid hints of potential positive trade talks from officials in Beijing and Tokyo.

Hong Kong and Japan markets finished in the green, while Shanghai remained closed on holiday. Other regional exchanges also finished higher, led by a 2.7% rise on Taiwan TWSE index.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 opened higher and held ground, finishing up 1% after Japan's lead trade negotiator said a deal with Washington is possible by June.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 378.39 to 36,830.69, as gaining issues outnumbered losers 148 to 76.

Leading the upside was delivery service Yamato, up 5.3% after issuing guidance, while bank-holding company Resona declined 5.3%.

In economic news, Japan's official unemployment rate logged at 2.5% in March, up marginally from 2.4% in February, reported officials.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened higher and rose to the close, after a Beijing official said trade talks with Washington may in the offing.

The broad gauge Hang Seng rose 385.27 to 22,504.68, as gaining issues outnumbered losers 69 to nine. The Hang Seng TECH Index gained 3.1% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index rose 1%.

Leading the upside was Wuxi AppTec, gaining 7.1%, while Sinopharm declined 2.1%.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite was closed on holiday.

In economic news, China's Commerce Ministry on Friday said "it was assessing the possibility of trade talks with the US after noting that senior US officials repeatedly expressed their willingness to talk to Beijing about tariffs," reported the South China Morning Post.

On the other regional exchanges, the S. Korean KOSPI rose 0.1%; the Australian ASX 200 inclined 1.1%; the Singapore Straits Times Index rose 0.3%, and the Thai Set inclined 0.1%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was up 0.1%.