Shares in Asia-Pacific were higher on Friday as investors in the region shrugged heavy losses overnight on Wall Street that saw the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite plunging nearly 4%.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 regained 198.68 points, or 0.7%, to 27,439.99.
The Japanese yen traded at 115.11 per U.S. dollar, weaker than levels below 114.5 seen against the greenback yesterday
Markets in Hong Kong returned to trading Friday after the Lunar New Year, gaining 771.03 points, or 3.2%, to 24,573.09.
Financial stocks in Hong Kong surged on Friday, with shares of HSBC soaring 5% while Standard Chartered jumped 4.8% after the Bank of England on Thursday announced its second straight rate hike.
The Australian dollar was at $0.7112, largely holding on to gains after its rise from below $0.702 earlier in the trading week.
In other markets
Markets in Shanghai and Taiwan remained shuttered for holiday.
In Singapore, the Straits Times index grabbed 15.42 points, or 0.5%, to 3,331.41.
In Korea, the Kospi index gained 42.44 points, or 1.6%, to 2,750.26.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 retreated 55.76 points, or 0.5%, to 12,279.56.
In Australia, the ASX 200 gained 42.2 points, or 0.6%, to 7,120.21.
