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Hong Kong - Asian shares were mixed on Thursday as most markets closed for public holidays, with Tokyo tracking Wall Street higher after the Federal Reserve said the US economy was picking up.
Tokyo's Nikkei was up 0.71% by the break, with healthy manufacturing data from China adding to the upbeat mood.
Sydney was down 0.73%, while Wellington was 0.38% lower.
Financial markets in China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand were closed for May Day.
In Japan, investors took their lead from Wall Street, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed Wednesday at a fresh record high.
The Fed, concluding a two-day policy meeting, said economic activity "has picked up recently after having slowed sharply during the winter in part because of adverse weather conditions".
The yen was under pressure after the Bank of Japan (BoJ) left its monetary policy unchanged but lowered the country's growth projections, fuelling speculation it will expand its huge stimulus drive, which tends to weigh on the currency.
The greenback fetched ¥102.24 in Tokyo trading, barely changed from ¥102.23 yen in New York on Wednesday.
The euro rose slightly to $1.3869 and ¥141.8, up from $1.3866 and ¥141.75 in US trade.
BoJ policymakers on Wednesday predicted that the world's number three economy would expand by 1.1% in the fiscal year to next March - down from an earlier 1.4%t forecast.
But expectations that inflation would come in at 1.3% over the same time period were unchanged.
The report was seen as a key measure of whether the BoJ still thinks it can stoke lasting inflation, but there are doubts among a growing number of observers who say the bank will be forced to expand its stimulus programme to counter a downturn in the economy.
The BoJ held off from expanding the asset-purchase scheme, awaiting the effects of an April 1 sales tax hike.
In China, the government said Thursday that manufacturing activity had improved in April for a second straight month.
The official purchasing managers' index (PMI) was 50.4 in April, the National Bureau of Statistics said in a statement, up from 50.3 in March.
The index tracks manufacturing activity in China's factories and workshops and is a closely watched indicator of the health of the economy. A reading of 50 or above indicates growth.
In New York on Wednesday the Dow advanced 0.27%t to 16 580.84 points, notching its first all-time high of 2014. The last record close, 16 576.66, was set on December 31.
The S&P 500 rose 0.30% while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index added 0.27%.
Oil prices were flat. New York's West Texas Intermediate for June delivery dropped 6 cents to $99.68 a barrel, and Brent North Sea crude for June eased 4c to $108.03.
Gold fetched $1 289.19 at 04:00 GMT compared with $1 288.50 on Wednesday.
