- Jewish school in Canada hit by gunfire for second time
- With medical report Harris seeks to play health card against Trump
- China-EU EV tariff talks in Brussels end with 'major differences': Beijing
- Buried Nazi past haunts Athens on liberation anniversary
- Harris to release medical report confirming fitness for presidency: campaign
- Nobel prize a timely reminder, Hiroshima locals say
- China offers $325 bn in fiscal stimulus for ailing economy
- Small Quebec company dominates one part of NHL hockey: jerseys
- Boeing to cut 10% of workforce as it sees big Q3 loss
- Want to film in Paris? No sexism allowed
- US, European markets rise as investors weigh rates, earnings
- In Colombia, children trade plastic waste for school supplies
- JPMorgan Chase profits top estimates, bank sees 'resilient' US economy
- Little progress at key meet ahead of COP29 climate summit
- 'Party atmosphere': Skygazers treated to another aurora show
- Kyrgyzstan opens rare probe into glacier destruction
- European Mediterranean states discuss Middle East, migration
- Thunberg leads pro-Palestinian, climate protest in Milan
- Stock markets diverge before China weekend briefing
- EU questions shopping app Temu over illegal products risk
- Han Kang's books sell out in South Korea after Nobel win
- Shanghai markets sink ahead of briefing on mixed day for Asia
- Investors, analysts eye bigger China stimulus at Saturday briefing
- Musk unveils robotaxi, pledges it 'before 2027'
- At least 11 dead in Florida but Hurricane Milton not as bad as feared
- Asian markets mixed after Wall St drop, Shanghai dips before briefing
- Automaker Stellantis says CEO will retire in 2026
- Musk's promised robotaxi unveil delayed
- On US coast, wind power foes embrace 'Save the Whales' argument
- At least 10 dead in Florida after Hurricane Milton spawns tornadoes
- Internet Archive reels from 'catastrophic' cyberattack, data breach
- Wall Street stocks retreat from records on US inflation data
- Israel strikes central Beirut, killing 22
- Solar storm could impact US hurricane recovery efforts: agency
- Delta eyes Election Day travel pullback as profits climb
- Florida battered by hurricane, floods but spared 'worst-case scenario'
- UK's William and Kate in first joint public engagement since cancer treatment
- Over 200 women in legal talks with Harrods over Fayed abuse claims
- A very stiff breeze: BBC says sorry for 20,000 kph wind forecast
- Musk finally unveiling his long-promised robotaxi
- London's Frieze art fair goes potty for ceramics
- US, Europe stocks fall on US inflation data
- US consumer inflation eases to 2.4% in September
- Hurricane Milton tornadoes kill four in Florida amid rescue efforts
- South Korea's Han Kang wins literature Nobel
- Ikea posts fall in annual sales after lowering prices
- Stock markets diverge, oil gains after China rebounds
- World can't 'waste time' trading climate change blame: COP29 hosts
- South Korean same-sex couples make push for marriage equality
- Mumbai declares day of mourning for Indian industrialist Ratan Tata
Asian stocks rise on renewed confidence, strong earnings
Asian stocks enjoyed solid gains on Friday after a big finish on Wall Street, with renewed investor confidence and strong earnings by major industry players driving shares up.
The Nikkei was the region's biggest winner, closing 1.4 percent higher following a decision by the Bank of Japan to maintain its easy money policy.
Tokyo also got a boost from electronics giant Sony, which ended more than two percent up after announcing a record $85 billion in sales for the full year ending in March.
It attributed the bumper year to a weaker yen, strong gaming hardware sales and "higher revenues for anime streaming services", including from the acquisition of streaming platform Crunchyroll.
The conclusion of the two-day BoJ meeting, meanwhile, offered little in the way of surprises, with the central bank announcing a one-year-plus review of its longstanding monetary easing measures, but opting to keep them in place for the time being.
The decision for the review "is partly aimed at telling the financial market that policy changes will not be conducted immediately", Nomura Research Institute economist Takehide Kiuchi wrote in a commentary.
"Belief that policy changes will come later prompted yields to fall, the yen to ease and stocks to rise," IwaiCosmo Securities said in a note.
Shanghai was up more than one percent at the close, buoyed by strong tech shares, while Hong Kong also rose on the back of solid gains by tech companies Tencent and NetEase.
Seoul, Sydney, Taipei, Wellington, Mumbai, Bangkok and Manila were all up, while Jakarta, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur were down.
Frankfurt was up in early trade, while London and Paris edged down after opening in the green.
- Inflation 'beast' -
On Wall Street, a 14 percent surge in Meta shares -- along with strong performances by other tech giants -- boosted sentiment, as did receding fears of further turmoil in the banking sector, which had acted as a drag on global markets.
Art Hogan, an analyst at B. Riley Financial, said "the worst of the regional bank turmoil is likely in the rear mirror", noting that most US lenders released earnings that were reassuring.
Meanwhile, fresh US macroeconomic data was a mixed bag: though growth slowed more than expected in the first quarter, resilient employment and a bounceback in personal consumption offered a silver lining, pumping the brakes on recession fears.
"The consumer is still in too good of shape for the recession to start in the second quarter," Oanda's Edward Moya said in a note. "GDP growth is about to flatline, but it might squeeze out a tiny gain this quarter."
Focus now turns to the US Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting next week, with the market expecting the Fed to consider strong consumer spending and a drop in weekly jobless claims as evidence that the economy can take more inflation-fighting interest rate hikes.
The International Monetary Fund's European department director Alfred Kammer urged the continent's central banks on Friday to "kill the beast" of inflation by pursuing interest rate hikes of their own.
The European Central Bank has followed the Fed in hiking interest rates since last year, and will meet to discuss rates next week.
- Key figures around 0730 GMT -
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.5 percent at 19,940.51
Shanghai - Composite: UP 1.1 percent at 3,323.27 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.4 percent at 28,856.44 (close)
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.1 percent at 7,824.55
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1007 from $1.1033 on Thursday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2482 from $1.2498
Dollar/yen: UP at 135.73 yen from 134.02 yen
Euro/pound: DOWN at 88.17 pence from 88.24 pence
Brent North Sea crude: UP 0.3 percent at $78.59 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.3 percent at $74.98 per barrel
New York - Dow: UP 1.6 percent at 33,826.16 (close)
O.Hansen--CPN