Asian stocks rose for the first time in seven weeks, led by shipping and commodities companies, on higher cargo rates and raw-materials prices.
China Shipping Development Co and BHP Billiton Ltd both had their steepest one-week advance since August. Pioneer Corp, the third-biggest Japanese maker of plasma televisions, had its biggest weekly gain since 1984 after Japan's economic growth accelerated and US retail sales climbed unexpectedly.
"The volumes of raw-material traffic are going to remain reasonably strong," said Angus Gluskie, who helps manage the equivalent of US$500 million at White Funds Management in Sydney. "People have also remained reasonably comfortable on the outlook of the diversified miners and in the short run, prices appear quite robust."
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 2.8 percent this week, trimming this year's loss to 8.3 percent, and ending a six-week retreat. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index rose 4.7 percent. Singapore's stock benchmark was the biggest gainer, adding 5.3 percent.
A regional measure that includes shipping lines advanced to its highest since Jan. 15, as did the Baltic Dry Index, a measure of shipping costs for commodities.
MSCI's Asian index had its biggest gain in three weeks on Thursday, when Japan said economic growth accelerated to 3.7 percent last quarter. Separately, the US Commerce Department said retail sales gained 0.3 percent last month, compared with a 0.3 percent drop expected by economists in a Bloomberg.
TAIPEI
Taiwanese share prices closed up 0.14 percent, dealers said.
The weighted index closed up 11.09 points at 7,876.37 on turnover of NT$108.05 billion (US$3.41 billion).
"From a regional perspective, the Taipei bourse stood out as an outperformer," said Arch Shih (施薄元), an analyst at Taiwan International Securities (金鼎證券), as he noted big falls on other bourses.
Helping offset concerns over the US economic outlook were expectations that more funds could flow into the local bourse due to the Taiwan dollar's recent strength, he said.
TOKYO
Japanese share prices closed almost unchanged, recovering early losses despite persistent worries about the outlook for the US economy, dealers said.
They said investors squared their positions ahead of a long weekend in the US. There was little impact from a widely expected decision by the Bank of Japan to leave interest rates unchanged.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange's benchmark Nikkei-225 index closed down 3.89 points or 0.03 percent at 13,622.56, while the broader TOPIX index of all first-section shares edged up 2.45 points or 0.18 percent to 1,334.89.
The Nikkei rose by 4.65 percent over the past week.
HONG KONG
Hong Kong share prices closed up 0.5 percent, dealers said.
The Hang Seng index closed up 126.75 points at 24,148.43. For the week, the index was up 678.97 points or 2.89 percent.
SYDNEY
Australian share prices closed down 1.4 percent, dealers said.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 closed down 78.2 points at 5,606.6, while the broader All Ordinaries finished 68.4 points lower at 5,679.8.
SHANGHAI
Chinese share prices closed 1.21 percent lower, dealers said.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite index, which covers both A and B shares, closed down 55.19 points to 4,497.13.
Figures showed a jump in bank lending, raising fears of a rate hike.
The Shanghai A-share index fell 1.21 percent to 4,719.39. The Shenzhen A-share index was down 0.73 percent at 1,441.87.
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