Japan edged higher on Friday, while Australia fell, as both markets stabilized aftersharp gains in the previous session.
The Nikkei edged up 0.3% and Australia's S&P ASX 200 fell 0.5% after hefty gains on Thursday in light of the U.S. Federal Reserve's commitment to low interest rates and Chairwoman Janet Yellen's relatively upbeat assessment of the U.S. economy.
The yen moved slightly higher in Asian trade, last changing hands at ¥101.84 to the dollar compared with ¥101.94 late Thursday in New York.
In the U.S. overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed just 0.1%, offering no catalyst to push Asian markets higher on Friday.
Thursday's gains made Australia and Japan among the best performers in Asia this week, with Sydney up 0.8% since last Friday and Tokyo gaining 2% over the same period.
The sharp gains in the Nikkei, which closed at a near five-month high on Thursday, reflect a favorable view among global investors of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's corporate-tax cut and other structural changes being rolled out this month. Mr. Abe is set to formally release his growth strategy as soon as Tuesday.
China's much-watched preliminary manufacturing data, scheduled for release on Monday, has in recent months supported a view that the Chinese economy has hit its trough, with Société Générale expecting a third successive increase in the gauge to 49.7 from 49.4.
In China, stocks were mixed ahead of the data, with the Hang Seng Index up 0.2% in Hong Kong and the Shanghai Composite down 0.5%.
Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea's Kospi was down 1% and Singapore's Straits Times Index lost 0.1%
In corporate news, gold miners shot higher after the spot price of the precious metal jumped 3.4% overnight. Newcrest Mining Ltd. added 4.5% in Sydney and Zijin Mining Group Co. Ltd. was 3.5% higher in Hong Kong.
Also in Hong Kong, Tianhe Chemicals Group Ltd. was flat in debut trading after the specialty chemicals manufacturer raised $654 million in an initial public offering.
