Asian stocks ended sharply higher Friday, with Japan's Nikkei 225 registering gains as the Bank of Japan's influential tankan survey showed businesses becoming more confident in the past three months.
Japan's Nikkei 225 Average edged up 85.11 points, or 0.51 percent, to end the week at 16,914.31 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 191.25 points, or 1.01 percent, to 19,110.65.
Markets got a boost after the Bank of Japan's quarterly "tankan" survey of business executives showed that the confidence index for major manufacturers rose to 25 from 24 from the September survey.
The modest improvement were not expected to affect the widespread view that the BOJ will hold off on raising interest rates at its meeting Monday and Tuesday. Central bank policy makers have said they are more concerned about the weakness of consumer spending, inflation and other data related to the household sector.
Japan Tobacco Inc. rose 3.1 percent on reports that it was in talks to buy smaller British rival Gallaher Group PLC. Later in the day, JT said it would acquire Gallaher for 2.25 trillion yen (US$19.1 billion) in reportedly the largest-ever corporate acquisition by a Japanese company.
Elsewhere:
BANGKOK: Thai shares rose 0.5 percent, cheered by higher global oil prices and regional gains. The Stock Exchange of Thailand's benchmark SET Index gained 3.98 points to close at 736.29.
JAKARTA: Indonesia shares advanced 1.4 percent, with gains in gas distributor Gas Negara, bellwether Telkom driving the main index to a fresh record high at 1,792.16 points.
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian shares gained 1.3 percent to 1,089.32 in active trade on a technical rebound.
MANILA: Philippine shares shifted to their highest level in 9 1/2 years Friday on gains in geothermal producer PNOC-Energy Development. The benchmark 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange Index was up 23.02 points, or 0.8 percent, at 2,856.29, its best finish since June 20, 1997.
MUMBAI: Indian shares rallied, led by Tata Steel and index heavyweight Oil & Natural Gas. The Bombay Stock Exchange's 30-stock Sensitive Index, or Sensex, recovered from sharp declines earlier this week to end up 127.36 points, or 0.9 percent, at 13,614.52 points.
SEOUL: South Korean shares moved up slightly, led by gains by market heavyweights like Posco and Kookmin Bank. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index, or Kospi, rose 3.49 points, or 0.25 percent, to 1,421.87.
SHANGHAI/SHENZHEN: Chinese shares finished at a record high for a second straight day as an Internet search engine's strong market debut sparked demand for tech stocks. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index added 1.1 percent to close at 2,273.91. The Shenzhen Composite Index for China's smaller second market rose 1.7 percent to 525.89.
SINGAPORE: Singaporean shares ended higher on Wall Street's record close overnight, as Wilmar International soaring on its $4.3 billion merger with companies linked to Malaysian magnate Robert Kuok. The Straits Times Index closed up 0.51 percent at 2,931.29 points.
TAIPEI: Taiwan shares rose, buoyed by the advance of U.S. and Chinese markets. The Weighted Stock Index of the Taiwan Stock Exchange gained 58.41 points, or 0.8 percent, to 7,538.82.
WELLINGTON: New Zealand shares were lifted to another record high by gains in Telecom and currency-sensitive stocks. The NZSX-50 advanced 24.73 points, or 0.62 percent to 3,992.57.
SYDNEY: Australian shares set new closing records amid heavy buying in the mining sector. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 inched up 2.3 points to a record high of 5,575.4. The All Ordinaries jumped 6.1 points to a record 5,557.
With files from wire services
