Most indexes in Asia closed higher on Friday, shaking off a slip on Wall Street due to uncertainty in Washington while investors anticipated an annual central banking symposium in Jackson Hole.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index regained 98.84 points, or 0.5%, to 19,452.61, with gains in automakers, trading houses and financials driving the broader rise in the index.
The Hang Seng Index soared 329.56 points, or 1.2%, to 27,848.16
Australian markets were flat, as investors digested earnings.
In corporate news, Toshiba has been offered $1.9 trillion yen ($17.4 billion U.S.) for its memory chip unit. The offer was made by a consortium including Western Digital and Innovation Network Corp of Japan, among others. Toshiba stock closed flat while other technology stocks in Japan proved a mixed picture.
Australia's Qantas Airways reported on Friday its second-highest result in the company's history. The airline's underlying profit before tax rose to A$1.4 billion ($1.1 billion U.S.) for the year ending on Jun. 30. That was above the A$1.38 pre-tax profit forecast by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S/. Qantas stock erased a fall of more than 2% in early trade to climb 3.8% by the end of the session.
Other market movers during the session included several Hong Kong-listed corporates that posted results after the market close on Thursday. Property developer China Vanke, for one, saw stock rose more than 2% in early trade before slipping 0.4% by late afternoon local time. The company reported a 36.5% rise in net profit for the half of the year ending on Jun. 30.
App company Meitu rose 4.5% by near the end of trading Friday, after it said its net loss for the first half of the year was reduced by 94% compared to the year before. Meitu's total revenue increased almost threefold compared to one year ago.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong-listed oil stocks gained after CNOOC and PetroChina announced strong first-half results that beat expectations. CNOOC and PetroChina saw their shares jump near 3% and 4.2% respectively by late afternoon.
In economic news, Japan July Consumer Price Index rose 0.5% compared to one year ago. That was the seventh consecutive month of gains in core consumer prices
Investors also awaited Friday speeches from U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen and European Central Bank President Mario Draghi at an annual central banking meeting in Jackson Hole.
Against the Japanese currency, the U.S. dollar firmed to fetch 109.68 yen. The dollar had fallen below the 109 handle earlier in the week after Trump warned he could shut down the government if he didn't secure funds to build a proposed border wall between the U.S. and Mexico.
Shares of several Samsung affiliates on the Korea Exchange closed lower after a court announced Friday that Samsung Group's de facto head, Jay Y. Lee, committed bribery and embezzled 6.4 billion won.
Lee was reportedly sentenced to a five-year jail term. Following the announcement, Samsung Electronics deepened losses seen earlier in the session to close down 1.1% and Samsung C&T fell 1.5%.
In other markets
The CSI 300 restored 61.1 points, or 1.6%, to 3,795.75
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index declined 12.59 points, or 0.4%, to 3,259.57
In Taiwan, the Taiex index advanced 26.55 points, or 0.3%, to 10,515.51
In Korea, the Kospi index was up 2.67 points, or 0.1%, to 2,378.51
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 slid 10.59 points, or 0.1%, to 7,857.81
In Australia, the ASX 200 slipped 1.61 points to 5,743.86
