Japanese markets edge up slightly

Asian stocks mostly rose in thin holiday trade on Thursday as investors digested broadly positive tech earnings from the U.S. and awaited clarity on U.S. President Trump's tariff policies, especially on Canada, Mexico and China.

The yen edged up against the dollar and euro amid signs the Bank of Japan will keep raising interest rates as others cut.

The dollar eased and gold ticked higher after the Federal Reserve signaled that it is in no rush to cut interest rates.

The European Central Bank meets later in the day, with markets expecting another 25-bps rate cut, the first of four rate cuts expected for 2025.

Oil prices were mixed in Asian trading after falling in the previous session as official data indicated a rise in U.S. inventories.

Japanese markets edged up slightly as semiconductor stocks continued to recover from DeepSeek concerns. Tokyo Electron advanced 1.9 percent and Advantest surged 3.2 percent.

SoftBank Group shares fell 1.1 percent after a Financial Times report that the company is considering a $25 billion investment in OpenAI.

The Nikkei average edged up by 0.25 percent to 39,513.97 while the broader Topix index closed up 0.23 percent at 2,781.93.

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