Shares in Asia-Pacific rose on Friday, as investors monitored Hong Kong-listed stocks of firms in regulation-hit sectors such as video games.
The Nikkei 225 regained 373.65 points, or 1.3%, to 30,381.84.
The Japanese yen traded at 109.92 per U.S. dollar, stronger than levels around 110.4 seen against the greenback earlier this week
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index recovered 489.91 points, or 1.9%, to 26,205.91.
Shares of Tencent in Hong Kong jumped 2.1% on Friday while NetEase gained 3.1% — a partial recovery after the heavy losses seen Thursday.
Gaming stocks had tumbled on Thursday as the South China Morning Post reported that the Chinese government will suspend approvals for new online games in the country. After the market close, however, the media outlet corrected the report to instead say regulators will slow the approvals process.
Meanwhile, the European Central Bank announced Thursday a slowing in the pace of net asset purchases under its pandemic emergency purchase program.
The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7379 following a decline from above $0.744 seen earlier in the trading week.
In other markets
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 restocked 43.51 points, or 0.9% to 5,013.52.
In Korea, the Kospi index gained 11.06 points, or 0.4%, to 3,125.76
In Singapore, the Straits Times added 27.1 points, or 0.9%, to 3,098.80
In Taiwan, the Taiex index zoomed 170.24 points, or 1%, to 17,474.57
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 lost 31.38 points, or 0.2%, to 13,064.39
In Australia, the ASX 200 returned to gains with a hike of 37.1 points, or 0.5%, at 7,406.63
