Shares advanced in most Asian markets on Friday after Wall Street extended a rally into a third day and oil prices pushed past US$105 per barrel.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called for more help for his country after days of bombardment of civilian sites in multiple cities over the past few days.
The war is among the uncertainties overhanging markets.
The TAIEX on Friday edged up 0.048 percent to close at 17,456.52 points, posting a weekly gain of 1.11 percent.
Wrapping up a two-day meeting, the Bank of Japan opted to keep its monetary policy unchanged, with its benchmark interest rate at minus-0.1 percent. Japan’s central bank has been keeping interest rates ultra-low and pumping tens of billions of US dollars into the world’s third-largest economy for years, trying to spur faster growth.
Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei 225 on Friday gained 0.65 percent, or 174.54 points, to 26,827.43, advancing 6.6 percent on the week, while the broader TOPIX added 0.54 percent, or 10.26 points, to 1,909.27, surging 6.1 percent weekly.
Among major shares, Sony Group Corp rose 1.26 percent to 12,425 yen and Softbank Group Corp jumped 3.68 percent.
Uniqlo-operator Fast Retailing Co rose 0.5 percent.
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group emerged above water and ended 0.26 percent higher, while Nintendo Co gave up earlier gains and ended 0.02 percent lower.
Air carrier ANA Holdings Inc dropped 0.67 percent and Toyota Motor Corp fell 0.79 percent after the automaker announced a further reduction of production activities because of a COVID-19 pandemic-linked parts shortage.
In Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney rose 0.6 percent to 7,294.40, bringing its weekly gain to 3.3 percent.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index retreated 0.4 percent to 21,412.40 points, paring its weekly gain to 4.2 percent.
The Shanghai Composite Index on Friday added 1 percent to 3,251.07, falling 1.8 percent weekly.
Big swings in markets have become the norm as investors struggle to handicap what will happen to the economy and the world’s already high inflation because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, higher interest rates from central banks around the world and renewed COVID-19 worries in various hotspots.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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