SINGAPORE — Shares in Asia-Pacific were mixed as investors in Asia-Pacific monitor coronavirus developments.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.25% in early trade while the Topix index added 0.22%. South Korea’s Kospi also gained 0.21%

Meanwhile, shares in Australia declined, with the S&P/ASX 200 slipping 0.21%.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded below the flatline.

Semiconductor-related stocks in Asia-Pacific slipped in Friday morning trade after chipmaker Intel reported mixed quarterly numbers.

In Japan, shares of Tokyo Electron dropped more than 1.5% while Advantest fell about 0.9%. In South Korea, industry heavyweight Samsung Electronics saw its stock decline 0.17% while chipmaker SK Hynix shed 0.96%

On the coronavirus front, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved Gilead Sciences’ antiviral drug remdesivir for the virus. The intravenous drug has helped shorten the recovery time of some hospitalized Covid-19 patients.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday a deal on new coronavirus stimulus was “just about there” though she warned that passing it into law will take time as she and the Trump administration attempt to iron out remaining issues.

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was last at 92.965 following a recovery from levels below 92.8 in recent days.

The Japanese yen traded at 104.84 per dollar, having weakened from levels around 104.5 against the greenback yesterday. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7121 following its rise from levels below $0.705 earlier this week.

Oil prices were lower in the morning of Asian trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures down 0.26% to $42.35 per barrel. U.S. crude futures also shed 0.27% to $40.53 per barrel.

— CNBC’s Berkeley Lovelace Jr. contributed to this report.