By Associated Press
Asian shares were higher Friday after technology companies powered the biggest gain on Wall Street since March.
All major regional indexes advanced, with Tokyo gaining 1.4%.
Taiwan shares (TAIWAN:TW:Y9999) jumped 2.2% on news that computer chip maker TSMC upgraded its profit outlook.
TSMC (TAI:TW:2330) , the world’s biggest chip maker, climbed 4.4% after its CEO confirmed reports it plans to open a joint venture semiconductor fabrication plant in western Japan with Sony Corp. (TKS:JP:6758) .
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 (NIKKEI:JP:NIK) added more than 400 points and the Hong Kong’s Hang Seng (HONG:HK:HSI) climbed 0.8%. In Seoul, the Kospi (KOREA:KR:180721) advanced 0.9%.
The Shanghai Composite index (SHG:CN:SHCOMP) picked up 0.3%, while the S&P/ASX 200 (S&P:AU:XJO) in Australia gained 0.5% to 7,340.70. Stocks slipped in Indonesia (INDONESIA:ID:JAKIDX) but gained in Singapore (SES:SG:STI) .
On Thursday, the S&P 500 (S&P:SPX) jumped 1.7% to 4,438.26 as a wave of buying gained momentum from a day earlier, when the market broke a three-day losing streak.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DOW:DJIA) rose 1.6% to 34,912.56 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq (NASDAQ:COMP) climbed 1.7% to 14,823.43.
Bond yields edged lower. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 1.52% from 1.55% late Wednesday.
In other trading on Friday, U.S. benchmark crude oil gained 44 cents to $81.75 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It surged 87 cents to $81.31 per barrel on Thursday.
Brent crude , the standard for international pricing, added 49 cents to $84.49 per barrel.
The U.S. dollar (XTUP:USDJPY) strengthened to 113.92 Japanese yen from 113.67 yen late Thursday.
