Asian shares held near 14-month highs on Friday as investors restored bets the Federal Reserve is settling into a phase of very gradual interest rate rises, while Japanese bond yields fell after the Bank of Japan's radical new policy scheme.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS ticked up 0.15 percent, driven by gains in Australia, and within sight of its highest levels since July 2015 that it hit in early September.
Japan's Nikkei share average edged down on Friday as investors took profits on financial stocks such as banks and insurers that had soared in the previous session, while worries about a stronger yen dented sentiment.
The Nikkei fell 0.3 percent to 16,754.02. For the week, the benchmark gave up 0.3 percent.
China stocks slipped in quiet trading on Friday, led down by property shares hit by profit-taking after their significant gains the previous day.
The blue-chip CSI300 index fell 0.5 percent, to 3,275.67, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.3 percent to 3,033.90 points.
Reference: Reuters
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