Japan stocks bounce, while most Asia-Pacific markets are closed

This is CNBC's live blog covering Asia-Pacific markets.

Japan stocks bounced Friday, while most markets in the Asia-Pacific region stay shut for a public holiday.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index gained 0.53%, after falling about 1.5% in the previous session. The broader Topix rose 0.67% following declines of 1.7%.

The Japanese yen will be closely watched during the session amid speculation of a possible intervention after the currency recently hit 34-year lows against the U.S. dollar at 151.97. It last traded at 151.45 against the greenback.

South Korea's Kospi fell 0.2% moments after opening for trade, while the smaller-cap Kosdaq shed 0.45%.

Markets mainland China will be open for trading. Hong Kong, Singapore, India, Australia and New Zealand were among the major Asia-Pacific markets shut for the Good Friday holiday.

On Wall Street, the benchmark S&P 500 index clocked its best first-quarter performance in five years.

The index ended Thursday 0.11% higher, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.12%. Both indexes closed at record highs. The Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.12%.

— CNBC's Lisa Kailai Han and Pia Singh contributed to this report.

The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at a fresh record on Thursday.

The broader market index rose 0.11% to settle at 5,254.35, cinching its best first-quarter since 2019. The 30-stock Dow rose 47.29 points, or 0.12% and settled at 39,807.37, bringing it a hair's breadth away from the 40,000 level. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite, on the other hand, slipped 0.12% to finish at 16,379.46.

— Lisa Kailai Han

Oil prices rose more than $1 on Thursday and are on track for a third monthly gain.

The West Texas Intermediate contract for May gained $1.82, or 2.24%, to settle at $83.17 a