Gains in Asia amid stimulus hopes

China and Japan led the gains in Asia on Friday amid stimulus hopes while volumes were lower-than-usual as markets in South Korea and Hong Kong are closed for holidays. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index slid 0.2% to 142.72 as of 15:40 in Tokyo.

In Japan Nikkei pared losses to close above 15,000 gaining 3% this week while Topix closed at the highest level since 2008 after news that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will encourage the reviving of capital spending.

- Nikkei 225 closed 0.67% higher at 15138.12

- Topix closed 0.64% higher at 1253.24

“In the short-term, the Japanese market looks overbought, but in the long-term it’s not. We’re looking for the market to come off a little bit and go through a period of consolidation”, said Robert Aspin from Standard Chartered, Singapore.

In China the Shanghai composite hit a seven-week high at 2,288 points on news regulators eased restrictions on the refinancing process for firms with real estate investments, leading to another rally in property stocks.

- China’s Shanghai Composite Index closed 1.38% higher at 2282.87

“The market is trading in a tight range as profit-taking takes place while investors buy on dip”, said Takashi Aoki from Mizuho Asset Management, Japan.

In Australia stocks reversed the previous losses after the Australian dollar hit a new 11-month low of 0.9733 against the greenback. A weaker local currency lowers the costs for miners, boosting their U.S dollar earnings.

- S&P/ASX 200 closed 0.29% higher at 5180.77

- New Zealand’s NZX 50 closed 0.82% lower at 4597.84