INVESTING.COM – Asian equities climbed to record highs on Friday with the largest markets in the region capping strong gains for the week.
Virtually all the major markets outside of China were up while the MSCI World Index hit a new record high.
Japan's Nikkei 225 index was up 0.12% to 20,124.50, staying close to highs not seen since late 2015. Korea's Kospi 50 rose 0.47% to 2,126.09 by the lunch break, also marking decade-long highs. The FTSE Straits Times in Singapore was up 0.54% to 3,253.03.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index was up 0.08% to 26,368. The Hong Kong market broke through the 26,000 mark this week for the first time since June 2015.
Chinese markets were weaker. The Shanghai Composite Index was down 0.18 to 3,212.46 and Shenzhen was down 0.28% to 1,883.5 at the lunch break.
The Philippines market in Manila was down 0.63%. Thailand was also down 0.14% to 1,577.26.
The gains in Asia on Friday followed gains in the U.S. on Thursday. Wall Street ended up the day with slight gains after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said the central bank would continue rising interest rates gradually but pointing out that the inflation outlook remains mixed.