Asian equity markets ended mostly higher Friday after a strong finish on Wall Street, with resource sector stocks in China, Japan and Australia lifted by a rise in commodity prices overnight.
The Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo returned from a public holiday to gain 128.20 points, or 1.3%, to 10,092.19.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slid 22 points, or 0.1%, to 20,268.69.
There was also some caution in markets as investors awaited specific measures from European leaders to prop up fiscally strapped Greece. The European leaders Thursday pledged support for Greece, but stopped short of providing any immediate financial assistance.
Markets in Taiwan were shut for a public holiday.
A number of markets will be closed for Lunar New Year next week, with Taiwanese, Chinese and Vietnamese markets shut the whole week. Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysian markets are closed Monday and Tuesday, while South Korean markets are closed Monday.
The resources sector underpinned gains in several regional markets after metals and energy prices rose Thursday.
Rio Tinto rose 3.2% after the mining giant's full year profit for 2009 beat market expectations Thursday, while fellow miner BHP Billiton climbed 1.2%. Stocks in some metals firms were also up, with Shandong Gold-Mining Co. rising 3.2% and Jiangxi Copper gaining 3.3% in Shanghai.
In Tokyo, Pacific Metals soared 7.3%, Sumitomo Metal Mining climbed 4.4% and commodities trader Marubeni Corp. was up 4%. In Hong Kong, Jiangxi Copper added 1.1%, while China Molybdenum Co. rose 2.5%.
Beverages concern Kirin Holdings fell 1.4% after it released a weak fiscal year earnings report Wednesday.
Asahi Glass jumped 6.9% on expectations the glass maker may upgrade its earnings target for this fiscal year. Banking and financial stocks declined in Hong Kong as investors locked in gains ahead of next week's holidays. HSBC Holdings dropped 0.7%, China Construction Bank and Bank of China lost 0.5% each, and Ping An Insurance (Group) Co. of China lost 1.7%.
Technology stocks dragged on the Kospi in Seoul. Samsung Electronics dropped 1.7% and Hynix Semiconductor gave up 1.6%.
New Zealand shares ended modestly higher, but gains were capped by Telecom Corp. of New Zealand's 0.4% drop although the country's biggest phone company by subscribers reported fiscal second-quarter earnings largely in line with expectations.
Data earlier Thursday showed New Zealand retail sales grew a below-expected 1.0% in the fourth quarter from the third. Given the fairly subdued consumption growth, some economists now expect the Reserve Bank of New Zealand to start raising rates in the second half of this year although a majority still expected the rate hike-cycle to begin in June.
In foreign exchange markets, the euro declined a bit further after falling sharply Thursday. Traders said the single currency will remain under pressure until there are some concrete measures from European leaders to pull Greece out of its fiscal troubles.
The single currency was buying $1.36258 U.S. compared with $1.3678 U.S. late in New York Thursday, and was at 122.52 yen against the yen from 122.79 yen. The dollar was fetching 89.63 yen, from 89.73 yen.
Elsewhere:
The Shanghai 300 Composite Index climbed 30.88 points, or 1%, to 3,251.28
Korea’s Kospi Index was 4.15 points, or 0.3%, lower to 1,593.66
Singapore’s Straits Times index gained 5.27 points, or 0.2%, to 2,758.90
New Zealand’s NZX Index regained 15.20 points, or 0.5%, to 3,080.47
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 inched higher 7.80 points, or 0.2%, to 4,562.10
