Japanese stocks finished higher Friday, with the benchmark index rising to a new 15-year high as the yen softened against the U.S. dollar.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index boosted 83.66 points, or 0.4%, to finish the week at 19,560.22, its best close since April 2000. For the week, the benchmark index advanced 1.6%, marking a sixth straight week of gains. It is the longest string of weekly gains since mid-2014, according to FactSet.
The yen declined versus the U.S. dollar, with the greenback buying ¥120.90, compared with ¥120.77 late Thursday in New York.
The Hang Seng Index settled 93.65 points, or 0.4%, to 24,375.24, after two straight days of advances.
In other markets
The Shanghai CSI 300 hiked 52.84 points, or 1.4%, to 3,892.57
The Taiex index in Taiwan gained 12.96 points, or 0.1%, to 9,749.69
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index added 26.28 points, or 0.8%, to 3,412.44
The Kospi index in Korea dropped 0.65 points to 2,037.24
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 advanced 11.97 points, or 0.2%, to 5,871.38
The S&P/ASX index moved higher 24.68 points, or 0.4%, to 5,975.49
