Tokyo, Japan (BBN) – Shares in Asia were mostly higher on Friday, following US shares which made strong gains and ended two consecutive days of falls.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 was up 1.12% in early trade, at 19,203.09 points, as a weaker yen continued to support investor sentiment, reports BBC.
The US dollar was at 121.32 yen, compared with 121.29 yen.
A weaker yen is good for Japan’s exporters as it make their products cheaper to buy overseas.
Shares in Japan’s industrial robot maker – Fanuc Corp – were up as much as 11% after reports the company had put plans in place to talk with investors.
In China, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was in positive territory in early trade, but only just – up 0.08% at 23,816.71. The Shanghai Composite was up 0.3% at 3,359.22.
In Australia, however, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was down 0.65% in morning trade at 5,812.30 after ending the day up almost 1% on Thursday.
Australia’s TPG Telecom said it was set to buy domestic internet provider, iiNet, for more than 1.4bn Australian dollars ($1bn; £725m).
Analysts said the deal would see two of the largest internet providers in the nation merge, but may also see their rival Optus make a counter-offer.
Any deal would first need approval from the country’s top competition watchdog.
Meanwhile, South Korea’s benchmark Kospi index was up 0.82%, at 1,986.76, after ending the day in negative territory on Thursday.
South Korea’s central bank made a surprise rate cute on Thursday in an attempt to boost economic growth.
BBN/SS-13Mar15-8:30am (BST)