Markets in Asia finished mostly higher on the final trading day of the week, reversing some early losses, as investors weighed price increases in China and the possibility of a U.S. interest rate hike later in the year.
The Nikkei 225 Index recovered 82.13 points, or 0.5%, to 16,856.37
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index hiked 202.01 points, or 0.9%, to 23,233.31
Shares received a boost from a relatively weaker Japanese yen, which was trading at 104.17 against the U.S. dollar late Friday, up from levels below 103.20 earlier in the week.
Japanese export stocks closed mostly higher, with Toyota up 0.4%, Nissan gaining 0.8% and Honda higher by 0.7%. A weaker yen tends to boost exporters as it increases the value of their overseas earnings when they are repatriated.
In company news, shares of Nikkei heavyweights Fast Retailing climbed 5% after the company, which owns clothing brand Uniqlo, said on Thursday it expected its fiscal 2017 operating profit to jump 37.5% to 175 billion yen ($1.68 billion U.S).
Softbank Group shares advanced 3.3%, following reports the company was working with Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund to launch a new London-based tech fund that will manage as much as $100 billion U.S.
South Korean electronics giant Samsung gained 1.3% to 1,577,000 Korean won a share, despite announcing Friday morning before market open that it was going to take a 3.5-trillion-won ($3.1 billion U.S.) hit to its operating profit over the next two quarters from the fallout of its bungled Galaxy Note 7 recall.
However, analysts have said Samsung's strong balance sheet and substantial liquidity were expected to absorb the financial impact, which could be why investors shrugged off the news.
Australian markets were flat Friday. Among key sectors, materials closed down 0.5%, the heavily-weighted financials sector finished lower by 0.3% and the energy sub-index finished flat.
Major mining shares Down Under traded down, with Rio Tinto closing down 1%, Fortescue lower by 0.4% and BHP Billiton losing 0.9%.
CHINA
The trading session in Asia followed dampened global sentiment on Thursday following weaker-than-expected Chinese trade data.
The CSI 300 inched up 3.2 points, or 0.1%, to 3,305.85
The consumer price index in China rose 1.9% on-year in September, while producer prices rose 0.1% on-year, the first increase since 2012. Prices beat the forecast made by economists and signaled surprising economic strength in the world's second largest economy.
The Chinese yuan traded at 6.7247 against the U.S. dollar, after earlier strengthening to a session high of 6.7205 following the release of the data.
Reuters reported that Chinese state-owned chemical companies, Sinochem Group and ChemChina were in talks about a possible merger to create a chemicals, fertilizer and oil giant with almost $100 billion U.S. in annual revenue.
Sinochem shares closed up 10% and ChemChina added 4%
In other markets
In Korea, the Kospi moved up 7.22 points, or 0.4%, to 2,022.66
The Straits Times Index in Singapore gained 9.76 points, or 0.4%, to 2,815.24
In Taiwan, the Taiex Index let go of 54 points, or 0.6%, to 9,265.17
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 tacked on 13.21 points, or 0.2%, to 7,133.26
In Australia, the ASX 200 fell 1.51 points to 5,434.03
