Asian stocks mostly advanced on Friday as higher prices for commodities, including crude oil, pushed Wall Street stocks higher overnight, yet shares in Tokyo fell as the yen's strength worried investors, AP reported. Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 1.3 percent to 16,724.81 while South Korea's Kospi added 0.1 percent to 1,992.12. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 0.6 percent to 20,616.98. The Shanghai Composite index in mainland China rose 1.8 percent to 2,955.67 while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.3 percent to 5,239.30. Stocks in Singapore and Indonesia were higher. The stronger yen added to selling pressure in Tokyo, given concerns over the likely impact on profits of major exporters. Toyota Motor Corp.'s shares fell 2.3 percent, Nissan Motor Corp. was down 1.8 percent and robot maker Fanuc Corp. lost 1.2 percent. Wall Street finished higher on Thursday as commodity price gains boosted energy companies. The Dow Jones rose 0.9 percent to 17,481.49. The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 0.7 percent to 2,040.59. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.2 percent to 4,774.99. Benchmark U.S. crude rose 5 cents to $40.25 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $1.74, or 4.5 percent to finish at $40.20 per barrel on Thursday, closing above $40 a barrel for the first time since early December. Brent crude, the benchmark for international oils, gained 11 cents to $41.65 per barrel in London. Oil prices are now higher than they were at the end of 2015, but still far lower they have been for most of the last decade. The dollar extended losses that began with the Federal Reserve's decision to slow the pace of its rate increases while the yen gathered strength as investors sought safe haven assets. The dollar softened to 111.28 yen from 111.30 yen. The euro fell slightly, to $1.1312 from $1.1319.
