Asian stocks rose Friday on positive political and economic news from the U.S., while Hong Kong-listed Chinese companies were the best performers for the week.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index gained 16.12 points, or 0.1%, to end the week at 15,381.72
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index regained 115.99 points, or 0.5%, to 23,696.28
Sharp Corp. was one of the major movers in Tokyo, up 7.7%, after a Nikkei report that the LCD panel maker is set to begin production of small and mid-size panels to supply China’s ZTE Corp.
The greenback came off its highest level against the yen since early July. It was at 101.02 yen compared with ¥101.15 late Thursday in New York after spiking earlier in the day.
Australian markets closed the week higher, helped by energy and mining stocks. Aurora Oil & Gas rose 3.4% and BHP Billiton added 0.7%.
The Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Glenn Stevens said Thursday that the central bank was open to intervention to tame an overly strong currency. Those remarks helped push the Aussie down against the dollar, to $0.9191 U.S.
Australia’s benchmark fell 1.2% this week, South Korea was flat, and the Nikkei Average added 1.2%.
CHINA
Shanghai’s CSI 300 index fell 12.03 points, or 0.5%, to 2,397.96
Friday’s gains came at the end of a week dominated by outperformance of Chinese stocks. Last Friday, Beijing released a broad outline for structural reform of the economy, which boosted Chinese stocks on Monday.
Although the initial excitement was over, as data released on Thursday showed China’s manufacturing activity slowing in October, stocks in Hong Kong and Shanghai remained Asia’s best performers for the week.
In other markets;
Korea’s Kospi Index added 12.45 points, or 0.6%, to 2,006.23
Taiwan’s Taiex Index reacquired 17.33 points, or 0.2%, to 8,116.78
The Singapore Straits Times Index eked forward 0.47 points, to 3,172.85
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 slid 0.36 points to 4,818
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 took on 47.60 points, or 0.9%, to 5,335.91
