Asian shares rallied into the end of the week as airlines, Chinese banks and Japanese exporters helped lead the broad advance Friday.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 average recovered 81.97 points, or 0.9%, to 9,678.71
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index ballooned 412.81 points, or 1.9%, to 22,171.90
"Comments from China’s Premier Wen [Jiabao] that Chinese inflation pressures are now under control have seen investors in an optimistic frame of mind heading into the weekend," said one expert.
The Chinese premier wrote in a Financial Times editorial published Friday that Beijing’s efforts to curb inflation have worked, with price gains now back within a controllable range.
Chinese banks -- which have been expecting more monetary- policy tightening to control prices -- traded notably higher in Hong Kong, with Bank of China Ltd. up 2.9%, Agricultural Bank of China Ltd. leaping 6.1%, China Citic Bank Corp. adding 3.9%, and China Construction Bank Corp. up 3.5%.
Oil prices plunged 4.6% in New York on Thursday after the International Energy Agency unexpectedly said it would release 60 million barrels of oil onto markets, though crude futures later edged up in Asian trading, taking back a small portion of the loss.
Airlines advanced after the oil selloff, with Cathay Pacific Airlines Ltd, up 5.3%, and Air China Ltd. soaring 7.8% in Hong Kong. In Sydney, Qantas Airways Ltd. advanced 1.9%.
However, energy firms were consequently weaker, with Cnooc Ltd. losing 1% in Hong Kong, and Japan Petroleum Exploration Co dropping 0.7% in Tokyo.
At the same time, reports that Greece had gained European Union and International Monetary Fund approval of its latest five-year austerity plan fueled hopes for progress on resolving the country’s sovereign-debt crisis.
This helped some exporters gain in Tokyo, with Sony Corp. rising 2.4%, Toyota Motor Co., closing 1.1% higher, and Toshiba Corp. adding 4.9%. Sony and Toshiba were also aided by Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities upgrades of each firm’s shares to outperform from neutral.
In Seoul, Samsung Electronics Co. rose 2.5%, and LG Display Co. gained 5.2%.
Losses for Telstra Corp. weighed once again in Sydney, with the Australian telecom major extending losses from the previous session, when it signed a deal with the Australian government to enable access to its broadband infrastructure.
Telstra shares finished down 2.7% on Friday, bringing week-to-date losses to over 5%.
Meanwhile, shares of Italian fashion house Prada SpA chalked up mild gains in their Hong Kong trading debut, rising 0.3% but underperforming the broader market. The shares had traded lower in the gray market in the days ahead of the launch.
In other markets;
Shanghai’s CSI 300 Index moved higher 69.84 points, or 2.4%, to 3,022.47
Korea’s Kospi Index gained 34.95 points, or 1.7%, to 2,090.81
Taiwan’s Taiex Index subtracted 34.45 points, or 0.4%, to 8,532.83
Singapore’s Straits Times Index improved 22.13 points, or 0.7%, to 3,066.85
New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index reclined 6.21 points, or 0.2%, to 3,455.60
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index inched up 7.60 points, or 0.2%, to 4,508.10
