Most Asian shares rose Friday after Wall Street posted gains on the heels of an improving job market and higher corporate earnings as investors monitored developments at a quake-stricken nuclear power plant in Japan.
The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo was 0.8 percent up to 9,503.81, with some major car makers gaining lost ground as the country grapples with a deluge of destruction from a massive earthquake on March 11. Still,
Shares of Nissan Motor Co., which lost nearly 5 percent Thursday as it announced it may move some engine production from Japan to the U.S. because of earthquake damage to a Japanese plant, were up 2.1 percent in early Friday trading.
Shares in Toyota Motor Corp., the world’s largest automaker, rose 1.4 percent after being pummeled in prior trading sessions.
Investors pushed up several construction-linked shares, expecting those companies to benefit once Japan begins rebuilding. Komatsu Ltd. rose 4.5 percent a day after announcing that production was resuming in quake-affected areas. Hitachi Construction Machinery Co. Ltd. was up 0.8 percent.
Elsewhere, the Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 1 percent to 23,132.98 and South Korea’s Kospi moved 0.8 percent higher to 2,053.08, with investors snapping up high-tech shares. Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. jumped 3.1 percent; Hynix Semiconductor Inc. was up 2.8 percent; LG Electronics rose 1.9 percent.
Australia’s S&P ASX 200 rose 1.1 percent to 4,750.20. Among gainers was mining giant BHP Billiton Ltd., whose shares gained 0.4 percent as it announced a nearly $10 billion expansion pan to its iron ore and coal operations. Rival Rio Tinto Ltd. was up 0.9 percent.
On Wall Street late Thursday, stronger corporate earnings and signs of a stronger job market lifted stocks. The U.S. government said fewer people applied for unemployment benefits last week, evidence that layoffs are slowing. The average number of unemployment filings over the last four weeks has dropped to its lowest level since July 2008.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 84.54 points to close at 12,170.56. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 12.12 to 1,309.66. The Nasdaq composite index rose 38.12 points to 2,736.42.
Oil prices hovered below $106 a barrel Friday in Asia as upheaval in the Middle East and signs of strong global demand kept crude near two-year highs. Benchmark crude prices for May delivery fell 15 cents to settle at $105.60 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Thursday.
In Asia early Friday, the euro dropped to $1.4168, from $1.4183 late Thursday. The greenback edged up against the yen at 80.99, from 80.95.
