(RTTNews.com) - Asian stocks closed mostly higher on Friday after Greece repaid a 450 million euro loan it owed the International Monetary Fund on Thursday. A set of strong economic reports from the euro-currency bloc and continued hopes that China's central bank could ease its monetary policy further also underpinned investor sentiment heading into the weekend.
Chinese shares hit a fresh seven-year high as tepid inflation data bolstered the case for more stimulus measures. China's annual consumer inflation stayed flat at 1.4 percent in March, official data showed, coming in well below Beijing's target of around 3 percent for this year. Producer prices fell slightly less than expected, contracting 4.6 percent year-over-year versus forecasts for 4.8 percent. The benchmark Shanghai Composite index climbed 1.94 percent to close above the 4,000 level.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index jumped 328 points or 1.22 percent to 27,272.39, extending a rally of more than 6 percent over the past two days. The buying frenzy was sparked by strong capital flows from mainland investors to Hong Kong in the wake of a widening performance gap between mainland-listed A shares and H shares - the Hong Kong-listed stocks of mainland companies.
Japan's Nikkei index breached the 20,000 level for the first time in 15 years on hopes for larger shareholder returns and a recovery in domestic consumption. However, with investors taking profits at higher levels, the benchmark index erased all gains to end the session down 0.15 percent at 19,907.63. The broader Topix index slid 0.29 percent to close at 1,589.54. Eisai plunged 5 percent after the pharmaceutical company said it would reduce its workforce by about 25 percent across various functions in the United States.
Asahi Glass dropped 1.7 percent after the company said it would invest approximately 400 million dollars to construct a power plant in Indonesia. Fast Retailing rallied 2.5 percent as the operator of Uniqlo clothing stores reported a rise in half-year profit and raised its earnings outlook for the full year.
On the economic front, central bank data showed that overall bank lending in Japan rose an annual 2.6 percent in March, in line with expectations and up from 2.5 percent in February.
Australian shares rose, led by energy stocks. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index gained 0.61 percent to finish at 5,968.4. Oil Search, Santos and Woodside Petroleum rose between 1.4 percent and 2.3 percent after oil prices regained some ground on Thursday on strong German economic data and uncertainty about negotiations on Iran's nuclear program.
Miners ended mixed, a day after China moved to prop up its struggling iron ore industry by slashing taxes. BHP Billiton slipped 0.2 percent and Fortescue Metals Group tumbled 4 percent, while Rio Tinto advanced 0.6 percent. Gold miner Newcrest Mining shed 0.5 percent and Evolution Mining dropped 1.1 percent after gold prices retreated for a third straight session Thursday on uncertainty over the timing of the first U.S. interest-rate hike.
The big four banks rose between 0.3 percent and 0.9 percent, while investment bank Macquarie Group gained 0.9 percent and insurer QBE advanced 0.7 percent. Shares of Wesfarmers closed 1.6 percent higher. Supermarket chain Coles, owned by the company, has been fined A$2.5 million for misleading customers over the freshness of its bread.
In economic releases, Australian Bureau of Statistics figures showed that the number of home loans approved rose 1.2 percent in February from the previous month, missing estimates for a gain of 3.0 percent.
South Korea's Kospi average jumped 28.89 points or 1.4 percent to 2,087.76, its highest level in 44 months, on optimism over corporate earnings. Chipmaker SK Hynix soared 4.1 percent to snap a three-day losing streak, automaker Hyundai Motor rallied 3.7 percent and its affiliate Kia Motors rose 2.2 percent. Shares of Samsung Electronics gained half a percent amid the launch of its Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge smartphones.
In economic news, the leading index for South Korea, which measures the future economic activity, fell 0.6 percent in February after a revised 0.4 percent increase in the previous month, figures from the Conference Board showed.
New Zealand shares ended flat in quiet trading, with the benchmark NZX-50 index inching up 0.19 points to close at 5,847.36. Pacific Edge led the gainers, climbing 2.7 percent to 76 cents, on a report a research paper on its non-invasive bladder cancer test was published in a prominent medical journal.
Spark New Zealand rose 1.2 percent and Sky Network Television advanced 0.8 percent on heavy volumes, while utility Genesis Energy dropped 1.5 percent and Mighty River Power shed 1.7 percent on profit taking after recent gains.
Elsewhere, India's Sensex was moving down 0.2 percent as caution set in after five days of gains. Indonesia's Jakarta Composite index was down half a percent and Malaysia's KLSE Composite index was declining 0.4 percent, while Singapore's Straits Times index was moving up 0.2 percent and the Taiwan Weighted average gained half a percent.
Malaysia's industrial production grew 5.2 percent year-over-year in February, much slower than January's 7.0 percent growth, official data showed. Economists had forecast a 5.1 percent climb for the month.
U.S. stocks posted modest gains overnight as a rebound in oil prices boosted energy stocks. While Alcoa posted mixed results, new claims for unemployment insurance benefits rose less than expected last week, offering some reassurance on the state of the U.S. labor market after last week's dismal March payrolls report. The Dow rose 0.3 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq and the S&P 500 gained about half a percent each.
