Shares in Asia-Pacific rose on Friday following overnight gains stateside that saw the S&P 500 hitting a record closing high.
The Nikkei 225 rebuilt 437.24 points, or 1.5%, to end the week at 28,779.19.
The Japanese yen traded at 105.43 per U.S. dollar after weakening from levels below 105.2 against the greenback yesterday.
Shares of Japanese automakers rallied following a Nikkei report that Apple is in discussions with at least six companies about working on the “Apple Car.”
By the market close in Japan, Mazda Motor surged 18.5%, Mitsubishi Motors soared 8.1%, Nissan jumped 7.5%, Honda gained 2%, Toyota rose 2.% and Suzuki Motor advanced 1.7%.
The development follows a report Wednesday that Apple is finalizing a deal with Hyundai-Kia to manufacture an Apple-branded autonomous electric vehicle. Sources told media outlets that the deal was not yet completed and that Apple may ultimately choose another automaker to partner with instead of or in addition to Hyundai.
Shares of Kia in South Korea have surged more than 60% so far this year, while Hyundai shares have risen about 30%.
The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong hurtled 175.18 points, or 0.6%, higher to 29,288.68.
Shares of China’s Kuaishou Technology soared in their Hong Kong debut, rocketing nearly 200% from their issue price of 115 Hong Kong dollars (about $14.83 U.S.) per share. The stock later pared those initial gains, but was still up about 160.87% on the day.
The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7618, having slipped from above $0.764 yesterday.
In other markets
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 regained 9.46 points, or 0.2%, to 5,483.41.
In Korea, the Kospi Index recovered 33.08 points, or 1.1%, to 3,120.63
In Singapore, the Straits Times eked higher 1.53 points, or 0.1%, to 2,907.11
In Taiwan, the Taiex Index restocked 96.18 points, or 0.6%, to 15,802.40
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 hiked 61.73 points, or 0.5%, to 13,053.87.
In Australia, the ASX 200 recouped 75.04 points, or 1.1%, to 6,804.53.