Several Asian indexes set records Friday as a strong overnight rally on Wall Street buoyed bellwether exporters such as Honda Motor Co., while mining stocks led the gains in Australia after Rio Tinto agreed to buy Canadian aluminum producer Alcan for $38.1 billion.
In Tokyo, Nikkei 225 index rose 254.81 points, or 1.42 percent, to 18,238.95 while in Hong Kong, the blue chip Hang Seng Index rose 290.27 points, or 1.3 percent, to 23,099.29.
Gainers included machine tool maker Fanuc Ltd., which rose 2.07 percent to 13,340 yen ($109.34), Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd., which surged 2.77 percent to 1,781 yen ($14.60). Export-import company Marubeni Corp. posted a 4.74 percent gain to 1,170 yen ($9.59).
Banks also advanced, with Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. climbing 2.63 percent to 1.17 million yen ($9,590.16).
ELSEWHERE:
BANGKOK: Thai shares closed 1.8 percent higher at 859.14 in active trade, as foreign buying kept flowing unabated, lifting the market to its highest in 10 1/2 years.
JAKARTA: Indonesian shares gained 0.7 percent to a fresh new high of 2,301.60 in moderate volume, boosted by gains on Wall Street.
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian shares ended 1.4 percent higher at 1,384.72, an intraday high.
MANILA: Philippine shares inched up for the second straight session, driven by Wall Street gains and the central bank's cut in overnight borrowing rates. he benchmark 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange Index rose 29.27 points, or 0.8 percent, at 3,786.02.
SHANGHAI: Chinese stocks were virtually unchanged as profit-taking in newly listed firms offset gains in companies with strong earnings outlooks. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index edged down 1.59 points, or 0.04 percent, to 3,914.40. The Shenzhen Composite Index of China's second, smaller market lost 1.38 points, or 0.1 percent, to 1,089.99.
TAIPEI: Taiwanese shares surged to a new seven-year high, following overnight gains on Wall Street. The Weighted Price Index of the Taiwan Stock Exchange rose 116.89 points, or 1.3 percent, to close at 9,471.30.
WELLINGTON: New Zealand shares closed flat, failing to take advantage of strong gains on Wall Street, though the market traded in positive territory for most of the session. The benchmark NZX-50 edged up 5.1 points, or 0.1 percent, to 4,243.66.
SYDNEY: Australian shares rose as the $38.1 billion Rio Tinto bid for Canada's Alcan fueled merger and acquisition speculation in the mining sector. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 ended 26 points or 0.4 percent higher at 6,389.4.
With files from wire services
