Japan stocks extended gains Friday to a fresh 15-year high, as the yen weakened versus the greenback ahead of the closely watched U.S. jobs report for February.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index jumped 219.16 points, or 1.2%, to 18,971, the highest close since April 2000.
Meanwhile, the yen retreated against the dollar to ¥120.16, from ¥119.81 in the previous session, as markets looked ahead to monthly U.S. jobs data, scheduled for release at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time on Friday.
The Hang Seng Index dipped 29.04 points, or 0.1%, to 24,164, extending a four-day losing streak
Several major export-related stocks gained substantially, with camera maker Olympus Corp. leaping 5.8%, electronics giant Fujitsu Ltd. jumping 3.4%, and rival Panasonic Corp. climbing 2%.
Also boosting market sentiment was the European Central Bank’s announcement on Thursday that it would start its €1.1-trillion program to buy government bonds and other debt on Monday.
In other markets
The Shanghai CSI 300 faded 17.82 points, or 0.5%, to 3,478.52
The Taiex index in Taiwan recovered 50.68 points, or 0.5%, to 9,645.77
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index moved up 22.24 points, or 0.7%, to 3,417.51
The Kospi index in Korea gained 14.56 points, or 0.7%, to 2,012.94
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 hiked 46.29 points, or 0.8%, to 5,903.07
The S&P/ASX index dropped 5.30 points, or 0.1%, to 5,898.86
