Most Asian equity markets ended higher Friday as solid earnings reports lifted major Chinese banks in Hong Kong, while exporters paced gains in the Japanese and South Korean markets after a strong finish on Wall Street.
The Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo surged 132.61 points, or 1.2%, to 11,057.40
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index regained 329.67 points, or 1.6%, to 21,108.59.
Strong-than-expected first quarter earnings reports drove shares of China's two largest banks higher in Hong Kong. Industrial & Commercial Bank of China climbed 1.9% and China Construction Bank Corp. rose 4.2%. In Shanghai, they advanced 1.1% and 1%, respectively.
Container terminal operator Cosco Pacific tumbled 7.6% after saying Friday it plans to raise 4.67 billion Hong Kong dollars ($600 million U.S.) from selling new shares, mainly to fund the acquisition of an additional stake in Shenzhen's Yantian Terminals.
The company said it will sell 449 million new shares at HK$10.40 each, a discount of 9.9% to the stock's closing price Thursday of HK$11.54.
The South Korean market ended higher, recouping most of this week's losses. KB Financial Group gained 0.9% and Woori Finance Holdings rose 0.6% on hopes of strong first-quarter results.
Major exporters also gained, with Kia Motors rising 1.7%, while Samsung Electronics advanced 2.9% after its first-quarter net profit grew more than six-fold from the year-earlier period, thanks to brisk sales of chips and flat panels.
Exporters also led gains in the Japanese market, though many investors were cautious ahead of Japan's Golden Week holidays. Tokyo markets will close Monday and reopen on Thursday next week.
Shares of Sharp Corp. rose 0.2%, Canon added 1.9% and auto maker Nissan Motor Co. rose 2.4%.
Japan Tobacco jumped 5.1% after saying late Wednesday it will raise prices of tobacco products sold in Japan from Oct. 1. The company also swung back to a 31.5 billion yen ($339 million U.S.) net profit for the quarter ended March 31 from losses a year earlier.
But Honda Motor fell 2.1% despite swinging back to quarterly profits on Wednesday, as the results came in slightly below expectations and the company's earnings forecast was seen as conservative.
Australian stock gains were led by the resources and banking sectors, though buyers were tentative ahead of the release of a review of the country's tax system.
The government is expected to release a comprehensive review of the country's tax system, conducted by Treasury Secretary Ken Henry, on Sunday.
BHP Billiton climbed 0.6%, Commonwealth Bank of Australia rose 1.6% and Santos advanced 2.3%.
Macquarie Group jumped 4% after its fiscal year profit beat market expectations, and Chief Executive Nicholas Moore said he expects further improvement in the current fiscal year.
On the data front, Japan's March core consumer price index fell 1.2% from a year earlier, marking the 13th straight month of decline, and underscored how deflation still continues to dog the world's second-largest economy.
Separate data also showed the country's unemployment rate rose to 5% in March, from 4.9% in February, indicating that firms are reluctant to hire amid a slow economic recovery.
In foreign-exchange markets, the euro was consolidating recent gains after Thursday's modest recovery, spurred by expectations euro zone officials will have a final bailout plan for Greece ready within days.
The single currency was fetching $1.3295 against the U.S. dollar, up from $1.3238 U.S. late in New York Thursday, and at 125.21 yen against the yen compared with 124.53 yen. The dollar was buying 94.05 yen from 94.07 yen.
CHINA
China's Shanghai CSI 300 composite index gained 7.30 points, or 0.2%, to 3,067.36
ICBC, China's largest lender by assets and market capitalization, reported Thursday an 18% rise in first-quarter net profit, while CCB, the second largest, said its net profit jumped 34%. CCB's shares gained, shrugging off its well-anticipated plans to raise as much as 75 billion yuan ($11 billion U.S.) from a rights issue in Shanghai and Hong Kong.
Elsewhere;
Korea’s Kospi index picked up 13.14 points, or 0.8%, to 1,741.56
Singapore’s Straits Times Index moved ahead 15.60 points, or 0.5%, to 2,974.61
Taiwan’s Taiex index shed 49.80 points or 0.6% to 8,004.25
New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index forged ahead 3.86 points, or 0.1%, to 3,286.13
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 progressed 21.80 points, or 0.5%, to 4,807.40
