Japanese share prices edged lower on Monday as investors refrained from active trading in the absence of a lead from Wall Street, where markets were closed on Friday for a holiday.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index fell 39.68 points, or 0.44%, to 8924.43, easing back from Friday's three-month high. The broader Topix index of all first section shares rose 3.00 points, or 0.35%, to 848.97.
Wall Street closed higher on Thursday after a surprising profit result from Wells Fargo & Co. The bank expects first-quarter earnings of $US3 billion.
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 246.27 points, or 3.1%, to 8083.38. Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 31.40 points, or 3.8%, to 856.56. The Nasdaq composite index rose 61.88 points, or 3.9%, to 1652.54.
The Australian share market also rose before the Easter weekend. The S&P/ASX200 index was up 52.1 points, or 1.44% higher, at 3671.6, while the All Ordinaries gained 50 points, or 1.4%, at 3617.5.
The New Zealand market closed flat on Thursday. The NZX 50 was at 2571, up 0.9%.