Asia markets finished mixed on the final trading day of the week, but the major indexes in Australia, Japan and Hong Kong eked out weekly gains.
The Nikkei 225 popped 208.87 points, or 1.2%, to end the week at 17,572.49. The index has posted gains in four of the last five sessions, rising 4.3% for the week.
The Japanese yen weakened further toward the local market close and afterward, with the pair trading at 110.58 against the U.S. dollar in late afternoon local time. This is compared with the 107 level it briefly touched earlier in the week.
The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong stumbled 155.21 points, or 0.7%, to 21,467.04
Major Japanese exporters finished the session mixed, with shares of Toyota up 1.6%, Nissan up 1.7%, and Honda adding 1.4%. Shares of Sony were down 1.7%. Usually a relatively weaker yen is a positive for exporters as it increases their overseas profits when converted into local currency.
Shares of Mitsubishi Motors finished down 13.6%, following a 20% drop on Thursday after the company's executives admitted the company cheated on fuel economy tests.
Reuters, citing several Japanese media, said the car maker reportedly manipulated fuel economy data on an additional car model apart from the vehicles already disclosed; it may have also misstated data on four other models, according to Sankei newspaper.
Japan's Transport Minister Keiichi Ishii said he wanted Mitsubishi Motors possibly to buy back the affected cars, according to Kyodo news.
Energy plays in Asia had a mixed session, with Santos declining 0.2%, Oil Search adding 0.7%, Inpex up 1.9% and Japan Petroleum higher by 0.9%.
Santos shares advanced 10.8% this week, with Friday's decline halting a three-day gain as the company released its first quarter production report. Production was up 11% on-year, but sales revenue increased by only 1% for the same period.
Australian miners finished mixed, with major miners Rio Tinto, Fortescue and BHP Billiton losing upwards of 7.2%, while Atlas Iron added 4.6%
CHINA
The Shanghai CSI 300 index recovered 14.3 points, or 0.5%, to 3,174.90
Chinese mainland oil plays ended mostly up, with Sinopec advancing 0.4%. Chinese metal plays finished down, with Baoshan Steel losing 2.6% and Aluminium Corp. down 4.1%
In other markets;
In Taiwan, the Taiex Index tailed off 32.9 points, or 0.4%, to 8,535.75
In Korea, the Kospi index moved lower 6.61 points, or 0.3%, to 2,015.49
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index plunged 20.35 points, or 0.7%, to 2,940.43
New Zealand’s NZX 50 dropped 40 points, or 0.6%, to 6,866.11
In Australia, the ASX 200 retreated 36.35 points, or 0.7%, to 5,236.37
