Asia powers up on tech rally
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Toshiba and other tech-related stocks are higher in Tokyo Friday.
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(CNN) -- Asian stocks are powering ahead at midday Friday as investors draw inspiration from another tech rally on Wall Street.
South Korea is leading the way, with the Kospi up 2.5 percent to 20-month highs. Taiwan and Singapore are also more than 1 percent ahead.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 average is up 0.35 percent to 10,875.78 at the end of the morning session. At one point it touched 10,949 -- its highest level since October.
The broader Topix index is up 0.15 percent to 1058.46.
Toshiba is up 3.2 percent to 444 yen. NEC, Fujitsu and Hitachi are also higher.
Matsushita Electric Industrial is steady at 1526 yen after the big consumer electronics maker said Thursday it would restructure its Southeast Asian operations. (Full story)
In the automotive sector, there are gains of 2.8 percent to 4780 yen for Honda, and 0.16 percent for Nissan. Toyota is unchanged at 3620 yen.
Buyers are returning to export-oriented shares that dipped earlier this week on the strong yen. Sony is up 1.3 percent to 3850 yen and Canon is 1 percent ahead to 5090 yen.
The dollar is steady at 106.15 yen, still close to a three-low low of 105.97 yen touched on Wednesday.
Big banks are lower, with falls of 3.4 percent for SMFG and 3 percent for UFJ. MTFG is off 2.7 percent to 810,000 yen and Mizuho is down about 2 percent.
One factor weighing on the market is profit-taking ahead of a three-day weekend in Japan. The market will be closed Monday for a national holiday.
In Seoul, the Kospi is 2.5 percent higher to 844.78, with the market's biggest stock, Samsung Electronics, jumping 6 percent to a record high of 497,500 won.
That came on a rebound in memory chip prices. Samsung is also expected to post strong fourth-quarter results next week.
Leading financial group Shinhan is 3.3 percent ahead to 18,600 won. Hyundai Motor is up 0.4 percent.
In Taiwan, the Taiex is 1.15 percent higher to 6240.01, building on the U.S. tech rally.
Chip foundry TSMC is 2.3 percent higher to T$67.00 and UMC is up 1.6 percent to T$31.70.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX200 is 0.34 percent ahead to 3309.1 in afternoon trade. Telstra is continuing to make ground, up 1 percent to A$5.00.
Resources stocks BHP Billiton, which has slipped this week on lower commodity prices and a stronger Australian dollar, is down another 0.2 percent to A$11.89.
The Australian currency is trading at 77.49 U.S. cents, close to seven-year highs.
In Singapore, the Straits Times index is 1.12 percent ahead to 1862.32. Big bank DBS is up almost 2 percent.
SingTel is 1 percent higher, recovering a little of the ground lost earlier this week when majority shareholder Temasek said it would sell part of its stake. (Full story)
The moves in Asia follow a strong day on Wall Street, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq jumping 1.1 percent to its highest close since July 2001. The Dow Jones industrial average put on 0.6 percent. (Full story)
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