Most Asian stocks rose on Friday as Japan equities got a boost from a weaker yen as the Bank of Japan (BOJ) kept its monetary policy unchanged.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index declined less than 0.1 percent at 4:51pm in Hong Kong with more stocks gaining than falling.
The gauge has lost 0.6 percent this week, its biggest weekly slide since March.
The weighted index on the Taiwan Stock Exchange ended up 68.38 points, or 0.68 percent, at 10,156.73. The TAIEX was down 0.4 percent from last week’s 10,199.65 points.
Japan’s TOPIX gained 0.5 percent as the yen extended its biggest drop against the US dollar in five months.
Softbank Group Corp added 2.9 percent.
The BOJ maintained its policy rate and kept its 10-year bond yield target at about zero percent.
BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said it was too soon to show any stimulus exit plan, which many investors had been watching for.
Hong Kong shares steadied on Friday after the previous session’s sharp slide triggered by US monetary tightening, but the benchmark index posted its biggest weekly loss in three months.
The Hang Seng index rose 0.2 percent to 25,626.49 points, but registered a 1.6 percent weekly loss, the biggest since early March.
On Thursday, the benchmark dropped 1.2 percent.
The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index gained 0.4 percent on Friday, to 10,384.89 points, and fell nearly 2 percent for the week.
The US Federal Reserve raised short-term interests on Wednesday and outlined plans to shrink its balance sheet, raising concerns about tighter liquidity globally and capital flows out of Asia.
Sentiment has also been dented by China’s weak producer inflation and investment data, which reinforced concerns of a renewed slowdown in the world’s second-biggest economy.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.6 percent while South Korea’s KOSPI was little changed.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.2 percent.
India’s SENSEX and the NIFTY index were little changed.
Indonesia’s Jakarta Composite Index lost 0.7 percent and Singapore’s Straits Times Index slipped 0.2 percent.
Malaysia’s KLCI edged up 0.1 percent, while the Philippines PCOMP lost 1 percent.
Thailand’s SET rose 0.2 percent and Vietnam’s VNIndex gained 0.1 percent.
Additional reporting by CNA and Reuters
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