Asian stock markets are trading mostly higher on Friday, despite the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders remained cautious and were reluctant to take up long positions ahead of key data from the U.S. They also continued to pick up stocks at a bargain following the recent sell-off. Asian markets ended mostly lower on Thursday.

Indian shares are likely to open on a muted note Friday as investors react to signs of weaker GDP growth and stubborn inflationary pressures in the U.S.

Recouping some of the sharp losses in the previous session, the Japanese stock market is notably higher on Friday, despite the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark Nikkei 225 is moving well above the 37,700 level, as traders remained cautious ahead of the Bank of Japan's monetary policy decision and some picked up stocks at a bargain after the recent sell-off.

The Thai stock market has moved higher in four straight sessions, advancing almost 35 points or 2.5 percent along the way. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just beneath the 1,365-point plateau although it's likely to open under water on Friday.

The Indonesia stock market on Thursday ended the two-day winning streak in which it had picked up more than 100 points or 1.4 percent. The Jakarta Composite Index now sits just above the 7,155-point plateau and it's looking at another soft start again on Friday.

Expert market comment made by senior analyst Alex Kuptsikevich of the FxPro Analyst Team: US economy: slower growth with stronger inflation

Expert market comment made by senior analyst Alex Kuptsikevich of the FxPro Analyst Team: The Nasdaq100 might retreat to 15800

Yen falls to new 34-year low ahead of BoJ decision - Dollar traders await GDP and PCE data - Wall Street mixed, gold stays on the back foot

Euro-dollar stable; stochastic positive. Dollar up 0.33% vs. yen; Williams signals overbought. Gold-dollar drops 0.3%; stochastic RSI oversold. Tesla falls 0.5%; oscillator positive. Yen weakens, S&P 500 rises, US Treasury auction affects yields. Australian inflation disappoints. Upcoming: US GDP, French business climate, Japan CPI, UK consumer confidence.

The USD/JPY pair reached an all-time high on Thursday, touching the 155.50 level. This development comes as the Bank of Japan (BoJ) starts its two-day monetary policy meeting with widespread expectations that the interest rate will remain unchanged at zero.