Tokyo, Japan (AHN) - Shares in Asian markets closed finished higher on Friday led by Japan's benchmark index as it breached 10,000-level for the first time in eight months, sending positive signals to the investors in the region. Oil traded lost its rally over $72-a-barrel mark as light sweet crude-oil futures for July delivery was moving down by 56 cents at $72.12 a barrel in Singapore's Globex electronic trading on Friday. On Thursday, the front-month contract had jumped by as much as $1.35 to $72.68 a barrel in on the New York Mercantile Exchange overnight trading session, after hitting a seven-month high of $73.23. In currency trading, the yen gained as it changed hands at 97.95 yen per U.S. dollar in Asia on Friday, after it closed at 97.95 yen per dollar late Thursday in Tokyo. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 average closed higher by 1.55 percent or 154.49 points to 10,135.82 points, and the broader Topix index was 0.9 percent higher at 949.42 points. Nomura Holdings Inc. advanced by 4.8 percent on reports that Merrill Lynch & Co. has upgraded the Japan's largest brokerage's stock to "buy", citing profitable outlook. Shares of Sumitomo Trust & Banking increased by 3.3 percent and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group added 3.1 percent. In other sectors, Mitsubishi Heavy, the nation's largest heavy-machinery maker, jumped by as much as 6.1 percent. Yahoo! Japan Corp., Japan's most-visited Internet portal, increased by 9.4 percent. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng finished slightly higher by 98.65 points or 0.52 percent to settle at 18,889.68, while the main sub-index of mainland Chinese companies listed in the territory was 1.2 percent higher at 11,210.47 points. In the financial sector, HSBC Holdings Plc (NYSE:HBC), which is Europe's largest bank, increased by 2.9 percent, followed by China Construction Bank gaining 3.1 percent Li & Fung Ltd., the largest supplier of clothes and toys to Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) and Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT), surged by 3.9 percent in Hong Kong trading today. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 index also closed higher to 4,056.80 points led by mineral extracting companies and other sectors. In the mining sector, shares of OZ Minerals, an Australian mining company, surged by as much as 14 percent after its shareholders authorized assets sale to China Minmetals Group. Among other industries, Amcor, the packaging company, advanced by 2.4 percent in Sydney trading today. Suncorp Metway, a large Brisbane-based insurer, increased by almost 4 percent as it raised $2.5 billion by selling bonds guaranteed by the government. In China, the shares on the Shanghai Composite Index closed down by 0.6 percent at 2,780.89 points, led by airline industry. Shares of Air China Ltd., China's biggest international carrier, declined by 2.6 percent, followed by China Southern Airlines Co., the largest carrier by fleet size, dropping 2.1 percent in Shanghai. Elsewhere, South Korea's Kospi finished higher by 0.3 percent to 1,422.62 points. LG Electronics Inc., the world's third-biggest handset maker, added 2.1 percent in Seoul. Taiwan's benchmark Taiex index decreased by 1.8 percent. India's Sensex index was lower by 0.2 percent in late afternoon trading in Mumbai on Friday.

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