Asian markets end week on firm note

Tech stocks led the advance on the Japanese market Friday

HONG KONG, China -- Asian stock markets ended mainly higher Friday, led by gains in Tokyo where tech advances outweighed bank declines.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index ended 0.6 percent higher, gaining 82.18 points to 13,044.61.

It was the first time it ended above the 13,000 mark since June 11. The broader capital-weighted TOPIX index rose 1.29 percent to 1,305.06.

Australia, New Zealand, Korea, Singapore and the Chinese B share markets were all up. Taiwan lost ground, with the Taiex index slipping further below the key 5000 level.

Hong Kong was slightly weaker, with the Hang Seng index closing 13.43 points or 0.1 percent down at 13,174.02. China Mobile was the standout performer, putting on 1.7 percent.

Bank shares move in wake of reform plan

In Japan, some banking stocks eased as investors cashed in on the previous day's sharp gains prompted by hopes for wide-ranging reform.

UFJ Holdings fell 3.83 percent to 678,000 yen, while Asahi Bank Ltd lost 6.67 percent to 280 yen. But Mizhuo Holdings, the world's biggest bank by assets, finished 0.9 percent higher at 540,000 yen, for a gain of 5000 yen.

"Investors are torn between hopes for sweeping reforms and worries over whether those bold measures can actually be implemented," said Yoshihisa Okamoto, senior vice president at Fuji Investment Management.

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's top economic advisers on Thursday released a report that doubles as a manifesto for his structural reform programs such as fixing banks' bad loan problems and repairing the government's tattered finances.

Major Japanese technology issues moved higher, following a 1.35 percent gain on the U.S. tech-rich Nasdaq market.

Chip and computer maker NEC Corp rose 3.42 percent to 1,784 yen and rival Toshiba Corp put on 2.63 percent to 663 yen.

Auto stocks mixed on Chinese trade spat

Auto stocks were mixed as the market weighed the benefits of a weaker yen against the higher tariffs imposed by China in its trade dispute with Japan.

Honda Motor Co Ltd rose 0.55 percent to 5,530 yen while Nissan Motor Co Ltd lost 0.95 percent to 832 yen, and Toyota Motor Corp, Japan's largest automaker, closed unchanged at 4,300 yen.

Japan's biggest telco, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp (NTT), rose 2.84 percent to 687,000 yen, extending a 1.4 percent bounce in the previous session off an eight-year low on Wednesday.

Number two carrier KDDI Corp jumped 7.66 percent to 590,000 yen and third-largest Japan Telecom Co Ltd climbed 4.78 percent to 2.63 million yen.

News, Telstra pick up in Australia

In Australia, stocks finished the week on a firm note on Friday. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index rose 17.5 points or 0.5 percent to 3,428.7. It rose 0.4 percent for the week.

Media heavyweight News Corp, which represents about 11 percent of the benchmark, rallied 1.4 percent to A$18.15, while leading telco Telstra, with a five percent weighting, gained 19 cents or 3.5 percent to A$5.61.

Despite Friday's rally, Telstra remains 16 percent below its level just before it shocked the market with a sharp profit downgrade on June 12.

Miner WMC lost 28 cents to A$9.70, but remains not far from its more than 30 year highs as speculation lingered that it was the target of an imminent takeover bid by Anglo American or Rio Tinto.

In Seoul, SK Telecom rose 6000 won to 216,000 won, but Samsung Electronics and Hynix Semiconductor were both weaker.

In Hong Kong, telco heavyweights China Mobile and China Unicom were among the few stocks to make ground.

Reuters contributed to this report.