Asian investors push ahead
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Investors in South Korea pushed the Kospi higher Friday and other Asian bourses also closed in the black.
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(CNN) -- Asian stocks have resisted the negative mood on Wall Street for a second day, pushing ahead to close higher Friday.
All key Asian bourses finished in positive territory, ignoring concerns in the U.S. about the continuing weakness of the dollar and disappointing results from technology bellwether Hewlett-Packard.
Taiwan's Taiex was the most bullish, rising 1.74 percent.
Japan's Nikkei 225 average index closed 0.94 up at 10,557.69, turning in a third straight day of gains after dipping into negative territory during midday trade.
The broader index, the Topix, was 1041.03, up 0.98 percent.
Markets in Hong Kong and Singapore were the most cautious as their trading week drew to a close.
On Wall Street Thursday, the Dow Jones industrial index eased 0.41 percent to 10,694.07, while the Nasdaq slipped 0.77 percent. (Full story)
Japanese traders say selling interest by institutional investors remains strong at around 10,500-10,600 for the Nikkei ahead of Japan's financial year-end in March.
Internet service provider Softbank Corp, which posted narrower quarterly losses 24 hours early, was the most impressive performer, closing 9.87 percent higher at 4130 yen. The company said it was closing in on the 4-million subscriber mark for its Yahoo! service.
It reported a 16.4 million yen ($154 million) loss late Thursday.
Consumer electronics leader Sony closed in the red, down 0.46 percent to 4340 yen. But Canon rose 2.59 percent to 5140 yen.
Toyota Motor was also strong, finishing 2.58 percent higher to 3580 yen.
The South Korean Kospi closed 0.48 percent ahead to 882.18. Samsung Electronics rose 1.09 percent in brisk afternoon trade, closing at 555,000 won.
Shinhan Financial Group jumped 4.57 percent to 22,850 won. Its stock has gained more than 12 percent in the past three days.
Hyundai Motor, which released its quarterly result showing a sharp rise in profit due to U.S. export growth, fell 1.68 percent to 46,800 won.
Investors showed concern at the loss of share in its domestic market, as well as the continuing weak outlook for the dollar and its negative impact on Hyundai's export revenue moving forward. (Full Story)
In Australia, the S&P/ASX200 was steady throughout the day, finishing 0.23 percent higher to 3333.9.
Telstra continued to slip, but there were modest gains for News Corp., resources leader BHP Billiton and National Australia Bank.
BHP closed 0.68 percent higher to A$11.89. Australia's other resources bellwether, Rio Tinto, finished up 1.03 percent to A$36.22. Oil and gas producer Woodside was steady at A$14.83.
NAB closed 0.46 percent higher at $30.85. However, most rivals went backwards.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia dropped 0.03 percent to $32.20. Westpac shed 1 percent to $16.87 but ANZ turned around a midday deficit to finish 0.67 percent higher at A$18.07.
Finance group AMP gained 4.61 percent to A$4.84 after taking a A$3.6 billion writedown on its HHG plc demerger.
Telstra slipped further after its 1.45 percent loss following release of its half-year results Thursday. It was down another 0.42 percent to $4.73.
Meanwhile Australian government data showed home loans declined for a third month in December, after the Reserve Bank of Australia's decision to raise interest rates last year.
Housing finance to owner-occupiers by volume fell 0.8 per cent in seasonally adjusted terms following a 3.9 per cent decline in November.
The Taiex in Taiwan moved sharply higher, rising 1.74 percent to 6520.10. Formosa Plastic was 0.88 percent higher to T$57, but tech bellwether Taiwan Semiconductor dropped 0.78 percent to T$64.
Singapore's Straits Times was the steadiest of all Asian indices. It is up just 0.12 percent to 1866.07.
SingTel improved 1.82 percent and Singapore Airlines increased 1.72 percent to S$11.80.
The Hang Seng in Hong Kong was in similar mood. It is 0.16 percent higher to 13,646.41 near the close.
PCCW lost a little of the ground it gained during the week, slipping 0.79 percent to HK$6.30. China Mobile was up 0.96 percent to HK$26.20.
In New Zealand, the Top 50 index stopped a week-long negative run, closing 0.53 percent higher at 2439.443. Telecom NZ put on 1.08 percent to NZ$5.59.
