ASIA MARKETS: Asia Stocks Rise On Positive U.S. Lead

By Daniel Inman

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Asian stocks rose Friday on positive political and economic news from the U.S., while Hong Kong-listed Chinese companies were the best performers for the week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) closed above 16,000 points for the first time, as Janet Yellen moved one step closer to the top job at the Federal Reserve. The Senate Banking Committee voted to approve Ms. Yellen's nomination to become Fed chairwoman next year -- a move considered positive for the market, as she isn't expected to move aggressively to unwind central bank's easy-monetary policy, a process referred to as tapering. A strong U.S. jobs report also helped sentiment.

The greenback came off its highest level against the yen (USDJPY) since early July. It was at 101.02 yen compared with Yen101.15 late Thursday in New York after spiking earlier in the day.

Japan's Nikkei Average was up 1.1% at one point during the session, helped by the dollar's move above Yen101, but erased most its gains in the afternoon, closing 0.1% higher than Thursday.

Sharp Corp. (SHCAF) was one of the major movers in Tokyo, up 7.7%, after a Nikkei report that the LCD panel maker is set to begin production of small and mid-size panels to supply China's ZTE Corp. (ZTCOF)

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.9% , helped by energy and mining stocks. Aurora Oil & Gas rose 3.4% and BHP Billiton (BHP) added 0.7%.

The Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Glenn Stevens said Thursday that the central bank was open to intervention to tame an overly strong currency. Those remarks helped push the Aussie (AUDUSD) down against the dollar, to US$0.9191.

South Korea's Kospi was up 0.6%, while Thailand's SET lost 1.2

Hong Kong stocks continued to push higher on Friday, while Shanghai moderated. The Hang Seng Index added 0.5%, and the Shanghai Composite was down 0.4%.

Friday's gains came at the end of a week dominated by outperformance of Chinese stocks. Last Friday, Beijing released a broad outline for structural reform of the economy, which boosted Chinese stocks on Monday. Although the initial excitement was over, as data released on Thursday showed China's manufacturing activity slowing in October, stocks in Hong Kong and Shanghai remained Asia's best performers for the week.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index rose 7.2% over the week, and the Shanghai Composite added 2.8% in the mainland.

Elsewhere in the region, Australia's benchmark fell1.2% this week, South Korea was flat, and the Nikkei Average added 1.2%.

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