Tokyo stocks have led a rebound on Asian markets, reversing losses in the previous session as regional bourses took their cue from Wall Street, which shrugged off disappointing economic data.
Asian markets were mostly heading for a strong finish to the week, after a downturn Thursday triggered by a trio of gloomy figures from China, the US and Japan that cast a pall over the economic outlook.
Tokyo stocks closed up 2.88 per cent on Friday, regaining ground lost the previous day as the yen weakened, giving a boost to exporters. The Nikkei-225 index, which fell 2.15 per cent Thursday, added 416.49 points to finish at 14,865.67.
Sydney gained 0.49 per cent, or 26.4 points, to close at 5,438.7 and Seoul shares jumped 1.41 per cent, or 27.26 points, to 1,957.83. Hong Kong shares also took heart from the US rally, closing up 0.78 per cent, or 174.16 points, to 22,568.24.
But Chinese shares extended their losses in afternoon trade, as concerns lingered over the health of the economy after a much-watched index on Thursday showed Chinese manufacturing activity at a seven-month low.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index dropped 1.17 per cent, or 25.09 points, to close at 2,113.69 and the Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks stocks on China's second exchange, slipped 0.37 per cent, or 4.26 points, to 1,135.01.
"The market may remain under pressure in coming sessions, and for any breakthrough trading volumes will have to pick up a lot especially when there are no cues - policy or data-wise," Shenyin Wanguo analyst Li Xiaoxuan told Dow Jones Newswires.
The US dollar rallied against the yen in Asian trade on the back of mixed US data, while weak eurozone manufacturing pressured the euro.
In afternoon Tokyo trade, the greenback rose to 102.60 yen from 102.32 yen in New York on Thursday, in tandem with a three per cent rally for Tokyo's Nikkei stock index.
The euro also rose to 140.73 yen against 140.37 yen in US trade, while it was unchanged at $US1.3718, after a key measure of eurozone business activity weakened slightly.
"Discouraging external data has been responsible for the lack of buying support for Japan shares over the last several weeks," said Mutsumi Kagawa, senior global strategist at Tokai Tokyo Research Center.
"Investors are most keen to know whether the recent apparent lull in the US economic recovery is really due to data skewed by bad weather or needs to be taken more seriously.
"It will take more time to confirm," he told Dow Jones Newswires.
US stocks rallied to a near record high Thursday, as investors chalked up disappointing construction and unemployment figures to the impact of the severe winter.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.58 per cent, or 92.67 points, to 16,133.23.
The broad-based S&P 500 advanced 0.60 per cent, or 11.03 points, to 1,839.78 - some eight points shy of its record high in mid-January - while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index added 0.70 per cent, or 29.59 points, to 4,267.55.
"Nearly every US economic report released over the past month has been distorted by the brutal winter weather. Temperatures will rise eventually and economic data will normalise but we still have at least another month worth of softer economic data ahead," said Kathy Lien of BK Asset Management.
Oil prices were down in Asia as dealers weighed concerns that the Chinese economy may be losing strength against upbeat US stockpiles figures.
US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for April eased five cents to $US102.70 in afternoon trade, while Brent North Sea crude dipped four cents to $US110.26 for its April delivery.
Gold fetched $US1,320.45 an ounce at 0855 GMT from $US1,314.30 late Thursday.
In other markets, Manila fell 0.70 per cent, or 44.40 points, to 6,308.36. Top-traded Ayala Land Inc. fell 0.35 per cent to 28.75 pesos while Universal Robina Corp. dropped 2.60 per cent to 131 pesos.
Taiwan rose 0.91 per cent, or 77.24 points, to 8,601.86. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co added 0.94 per cent to Tw$107.5 while HTC fell 0.75 per cent to Tw$132.5.
Wellington gained 0.36 per cent, or 17.81 points, to 4929.64.
Telecom Corp fell 1.66 per cent at NZ$2.375 while Air New Zealand rose 0.88 per cent to NZ$1.72.
