Asian markets continue end-of-the-week rally

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Asian stock markets largely extended their gains in early Friday trading, as Thursday’s global rebound continued.

Japan’s Nikkei












NIK, +1.33%










  was faring the best, up 1.3%, handily pushing back above its 200-day moving average, as the yen hit fresh six-month lows against the dollar












USDJPY, +0.13%










  . Gains were being led by defensive names, such as beverage maker Yakult Honsha












2267, +4.37%










 , up 4.3%. Uniqlo parent Fast Retailing












9983, +6.05%










  surged more than 6% after posting positive earnings. But factory-automation stocks eased, highlighted by Yaskawa Electric












6506, -4.20%










  giving up an early 3.7% gain following strong quarterly results to trade 4% lower.

Read: What you need to know about the dollar-yen 6-month low

Hong Kong stocks












HSI, +0.54%










  also extended Thursday’s gains, with the benchmark up 0.6% early on. Tech was continuing to rebound, with Sunny Optical












2382, +2.84%










  climbing a further 3% and index heavyweight Tencent












0700, +0.74%










  advancing 1%. Financials were also higher, with Ping An Insurance












2318, +0.56%










 and China Construction Bank












0939, +0.43%










  also rising nearly 1%.

One exception was Australia, where early gains for the S&P/ASX 200












XJO, -0.05%










  didn’t last as financials then slid 0.7% following their rebound of the past month-plus. The only other benchmark lower was the Shanghai Composite












SHCOMP, -0.15%










 , down 0.4% after two days of gains topping 2%. Still, the index is about to have its first winning week in two months, snapping its longest skid in 6½ years.

South Korea’s Kospi












SEU, +0.79%










  rose, led by tech and automaker stocks. Samsung












005930, +0.99%










  was up 1% and Hyundai












005380, +0.41%










  was up 0.4%. Markets in Taiwan












Y9999, +0.87%










 , Singapore












STI, +0.31%










 , Malaysia












FBMKLCI, +0.58%










  and New Zealand












NZ50GR, +0.19%










  were all logging gains.



Source : MTV