Stock market records tumbled across Asia on Friday, with indexes in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea and Indonesia hitting new highs.
In Tokyo, Nikkei 225 index added 129.20 points, or 0.72 percent, to finish at 17,971.49 while in Hong Kong, the blue chip Hang Seng Index rose 149.79 points, or 0.7 percent, to 21,017.05.
Exporters like automakers advanced amid the yen's weakness against the dollar, which helps boost overseas earnings and makes exports less expensive. Toyota Motor Corp. rose 1.59 percent to 7,690 yen (US$62.52).
JFE Holdings Inc. and other steelmakers rose on a bullish report by Merrill Lynch. JFE rose 2.83 percent to 7,620 yen (US$61.95), and Kobe Steel Ltd. gained 3.74 percent to 471 yen (US$3.83).
Nonferrous metals also rose, with Sumitomo Titanium Corp. posting an 11.32 percent gain to 12,290 yen (US$99.92).
Elsewhere:
BANGKOK: Thai shares climbed 1.3 percent to close at 744.25 in moderate trade, as players took cues from regional gains to buy blue chips.
JAKARTA: Indonesian shares gained 0.6 percent to a fresh record high of 2,120.64 in moderate volume, boosted by hopes of lower interest rates.
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian shares added 0.3 percent to close at 1,360.65 investors as bargain hunting lifted some heavyweights and positive news flow boosted oil and gas stocks.
MANILA: Philippine shares hit a new closing high the second straight session, aided by overnight gains on Wall Street. The benchmark 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange Index gained 42.67 points, or 1.2 percent, to 3,671.29, after rising 2.4 percent Thursday to 3,628.62.
MUMBAI: Indian shares ended lower, weighed by selling in index heavyweight Reliance Industries and technology shares, which fell on fears that an advancing rupee will hurt software industry margins. The 30-stock Sensex fell 47.11 points, or 0.3 percent, to end at 14,162.71.
SEOUL: South Korean shares hit a new record, helped by a surge in brokerage and insurance stocks. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index, or Kospi, closed 0.2 percent higher at 1,772.26.
SHANGHAI: Chinese stocks rose as buying of blue chips overcame wariness of a possible interest rate hike or other tightening measures. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.4 percent to 4,132.87. The Shenzhen Composite Index gained 0.2 percent to 1,223.03.
SINGAPORE: Singaporean shares edged up, boosted by big gains by some blue chips and a strong performance by Wall Street overnight. The Straits Times Index closed up 7.73 points, or 0.22 percent, at 3,581.16.
TAIPEI: Taiwanese shares hit a seven-year high amid strength in the tech sector. The Weighted Price Index of the Taiwan Stock Exchange rose 122.92 points, or 1.5 percent, to close at 8,573.64 -- the highest finish since July 17, 2000.
WELLINGTON: New Zealand shares closed higher on light volume in a cautious response to rallying offshore markets. Brokers say the local bourse will struggle to make further gains as the country's high interest rates and strong New Zealand dollar drag on prices. The NZX-50 closed up 19 points, or 0.5 percent, at 4,212.46.
SYDNEY: Australian shares continued to recover, with investors encouraged by Wall Street's overnight rise on benign PPI data and other positive regional leads. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 closed up 0.5 percent at 6,290.8.
With files from wire services
