Asian stocks rose sharply Friday as expectations that the Bush administration could unveil a plan to prevent a wave of defaults by subprime mortgage holders helped bolster Japanese exporters such as Sony Corp. and Canon Inc. and lifted indexes in Hong Kong and Shanghai to record levels.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index added 415.27 points, or 2.57 percent, to close at 16,569.09 points while in Hong Kong, the blue chip Hang Seng Index jumped 499.6 points, or 2.1 percent, to close at 23,984.14.
Gainers in Japan Friday included Toyota, which climbed 3.68 percent to 6,760 yen ($58.28), and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., which added 1.83 percent to 1.11 million yen ($9,568.97).
Commodity-related shares such as trading companies and nonferrous metal companies also gained ground. Mitsui and Co. rose 6.64 percent to 2,410 yen ($20.78).
ELSEWHERE:
SEOUL: South Korea's Kospi advanced 1.7% to 1,873.24.
SHANGHAI: China's Shanghai Composite moved 1% higher to end at a record 5,218.83.
TAIPEI: Taiwan's Weighted index climbed 2.4% to 8,982.16.
WELLINGTON: New Zealand's NZX 50 index gained 0.3% to 4,118.97.
SYDNEY: Australia's S&P/ASX 200 added 1.8% to 6,247.20.
with files from other wire services
