Asian stocks finish mixed
Tokyo's Nikkei up 1.6% despite weak economic data. Australia and Hong Kong closed for holiday.
ATLANTA (CNN) -- Asia and Pacific markets were mixed in light trading at the end of the holiday week.
Tokyo's Nikkei average closed up 1.6%, while the KOSPI index in Seoul slumped 0.9%. Markets in Australia and Hong Kong were closed for Boxing Day.
The Nikkei gains came despite the release of some key government reports indicating the island nation's economy is suffering. Japan's industrial output took the largest drop in history in November. Unemployment was also up.
European markets were closed Friday for the day-after-Christmas holiday.
Wall Street will reopen for a full day of business Friday, after being closed Thursday for Christmas and following a holiday-shortened session on Wednesday.
The Dow Jones industrial average and the broader Standard & Poor's 500 index were both up nearly 0.6% on Wednesday. The Nasdaq composite advanced almost 0.2%.
Trading has been light all week with many investors on vacation. In addition to light participation, many investors have closed their books for the year and are not planning to make any large moves until 2009. 
