HONG KONG — Asia-Pacific markets edged higher on Friday helped by positive news from Europe and the United States but with nervousness about weekend elections in Japan keeping Tokyo subdued.
Tokyo closed up 0.52 percent, or 49.58 points, at 9,585.32, with the Topix index of all first-section shares up 0.02 percent at 861.21.
Despite gains on Wall Street, traders were reluctant to push the Nikkei much higher after it jumped 2.76 percent on Thursday.
Many investors stayed on the sidelines ahead of a weekend Upper House election that could bring fresh uncertainty after the honeymoon period enjoyed by new Prime Minister Naoto Kan.
"The Nikkei made a sharp jump to the 9,500 level yesterday but testing higher will be difficult as foreign investors' appetites are still not very strong," Kazuhiro Takahashi, general manager at Daiwa Securities Capital Markets, told Dow Jones Newswires.
Tokyo was also dampened by energy firm Inpex's announcement of a new share issue to raise funds, although stronger euro and dollar exchange rates boosted exporters.
Inpex plunged 12.81 percent, while Canon gained 1.01 percent and Sony 0.90 percent.
Sydney gained 0.9 percent, boosted by mining and energy stocks. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 gained 39.4 points to 4,396.3, while the broader All Ordinaries rose 40.4 points to 4,414.5.
"After early weakness where markets had been in negative territory, all sectors finished in the black with the energy, industrial, materials and financial sectors all convincingly higher," said IG Markets analyst Ben Potter.
Hong Kong was up 1.56 percent in the afternoon with the trade volume improved after recent lows, supported by Wall Street's gains and with Chinese energy majors gaining from higher oil prices.
Shanghai closed up 2.31 percent as a large influx of money not used to subscribe to Agricultural Bank of China's massive initial public offering returned to the market, dealers said.
The Shanghai Composite Index was up 55.77 points at 2,470.92 on turnover of 81.8 billion yuan (12.1 billion dollars).
Singapore's Straits Times Index was up 0.52 percent in the afternoon.
US stocks extended gains Thursday after a dip in new claims for US unemployment benefits and an upward revision of global growth by the International Monetary Fund.
European stocks also showed solid gains as investors took heart from indications of a healthier eurozone banking sector.
The dollar was higher in Tokyo on renewed market confidence about global growth and the US economy.
The greenback inched up to 88.60 yen in the afternoon from 88.43 in New York late Thursday. The euro fell to 1.2680 dollars from 1.2691 after hitting an eight-week high in US trade overnight, but gained to 112.23 yen from 112.15.
Oil traded near 76 dollars, lifted by buoyant sentiment after the IMF bumped up its projections for global growth.
Stronger demand in the United States, shown by a drop in crude inventories, also helped push prices higher, analysts said.
New York's main contract, light sweet crude for August delivery, was up 46 cents at 75.90 dollars a barrel, and Brent North Sea crude was up 26 cents at 74.97 dollars.
Gold opened at 1,197.00-1,198.00 US dollars an ounce in Hong Kong, down from Thursday's close of 1,204.00-1,205.00, continuing a movement by investors away from the precious metal towards riskier assets.
