Asian stocks ended the week on diverging paths as Japanese shares declined, while those in Hong Kong extended a record winning streak.
Volatility in the Treasuries market subsided and the euro extended its advance.
Equities rose in most Asia-Pacific markets with above-average volumes in Hong Kong and South Korea, while a stronger yen weighed on Japanese stocks.
The weighted index on the Taiwan Stock Exchange on Friday closed up 73.90 points, or 0.68 percent, at 10,883.96, a gain of 0.3 percent from last week’s 10,848.63.
Japan’s TOPIX fell 0.6 percent at the close in Tokyo.
7-Eleven parent company Seven & I Holdings declined with FamilyMart UNY Holdings Co after reporting results.
Fast Retailing Co surged 6 percent after profit topped estimates, restricting losses in the Nikkei 225 index to 0.2 percent.
South Korea’s KOSPI rose 0.3 percent.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.2 percent, up almost 4 percent since the year began.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index ended trading at a record high on Friday, after rising for 14 consecutive days in the longest-ever winning streak that reflects sustained investor optimism even after a bumper last year.
Market sentiment was buoyed by signs of concerted global economic recovery, as well as a resurgence in index heavyweight Tencent Holdings Ltd (騰訊), which jumped about 3 percent.
At close of trade, the Hang Seng index was up 292.15 points, or 0.94 percent, at 31,412.54.
The Hang Seng China Enterprises index rose 1.41 percent to 12,468.93.
The sub-index of the Hang Seng tracking energy shares rose 1.8 percent while the IT sector rose 2.27 percent, the financial sector was 1.07 percent higher and property sector dipped 0.19 percent.
The top gainer on the Hang Seng was Ping An Insurance Group Co of China Ltd (中國平安保險集團), up 3.41 percent.
China’s main Shanghai Composite index closed up 0.12 percent at 3,429.3152 points, while its blue-chip CSI300 index ended up 0.47 percent.
The market capitalization of the Hang Seng index has this week risen by 0.88 percent to HK$20.41 trillion (US$2.6 trillion).
Additional reporting by CNA
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