Asian markets mostly higher at end of week

Hong Kong - Asian markets mostly rose on Friday, with the dollar again breaking ¥120 while the euro held onto gains after the European Central Bank (ECB) shied away from fresh stimulus measures.

Traders overcame early profit-taking, triggered by losses on Wall Street, ending the week on a high note ahead of the release of US jobs data.

Tokyo rose 0.19%, extending their winning streak for a sixth straight day to end at a new seven-year high of 17 920.45.

Shanghai climbed 1.32% to 2 937.65 and Hong Kong added 0.71% to 24 002.64, as investors pumped in vast amounts of cash in hope of fresh economy-boosting measures from China.

Seoul closed flat, edging up 0.01 points to 1 986.62.

Sydney, however, closed 0.62% lower, dipping 33.5 points to 5 335.30 with energy firms hit by weak oil prices.

Regional shares have enjoyed a strong week, boosted by a slew of strong US economic data and several new record highs on Wall Street.

Friday's gains came despite disappointment that the ECB refused to embark on any new stimulus at its policy meeting, even though it cut its already weak growth and inflation forecasts for the eurozone.

President Mario Draghi said fresh measures to kick-start the bloc's moribund economy - similar to those already taken in Britain, Japan and the US - were already being prepared in case the outlook worsened.

"Should it become necessary to further address risks of too prolonged a period of low inflation, the governing council remains unanimous in its commitment to using additional unconventional instruments," he said.

"This would imply altering early next year the size, pace and composition of our measures."

Draghi stressed, however, that "early next year" did not necessarily mean the bank's next meeting in January.

The news dragged on Wall Street, where the Dow eased 0.07%, the S&P 500 dipped 0.12% and the Nasdaq declined 0.11%.

"Investors were looking for Europe to come with a grand plan. Every time they push it off," said Steven Rosen, a managing director at Societe Generale.

But it supported the euro, which had come under selling pressure ahead of the meeting, pushing it to $1.2380 and ¥148.27 in New York on Thursday, from $1.2300 and ¥147.62 earlier in the day in Tokyo.

On Friday, the European single currency fetched $1.2380 and ¥148.78.

READ:Euro holds up afer rallying on ECB decision

In other foreign exchange trades, the dollar nudged back above the ¥120 mark after passing briefly it in London Thursday for the first time since July 2007.

The dollar was at ¥120.16, up from its ¥119.77 level late in New York.

The dollar has enjoyed strong support against the Japanese currency thanks to a raft of data showing the US economy is on a recovery track, as well as the Bank of Japan's decision to ramp up its stimulus programme.

Crude prices remained stuck around five-year lows after the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) oil cartel's decision to maintain output levels despite a global glut.

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for January delivery tumbled 50 cents to $66.31 a barrel in afternoon trade and Brent crude for January dropped 41c to $69.23.

Gold was at $1 205.16 an ounce, compared with $1 203.88 late on Thursday.

In other markets:

- Taipei fell 0.20% to 9 206.57.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing slipped 1.08% to Tw$137.5 while Acer rose 0.97% to Tw$20.9.

- Wellington was flat, edging up 0.77 points to 5 522.68.

Contact Energy rose 0.63% to NZ$6.36 and Fletcher Building added 1.19% to close at NZ$8.50.

- Manila closed 1.22% to end at 7 211.14.

Philippine Long Distance Telephone plunged 3.33% to 2 842.00 pesos and Bloomberry Resorts lost 1.09% to end at 12.66 pesos, while Metropolitan Bank shed 0.24% to 82.60 pesos.

- Mumbai fell 0.37% to end at 28 458.10.

Dr Reddy's Laboratories fell 2.23% to 3 394.65 rupees, while diversified conglomerate ITC gained 2.27% to 391.45 rupees.

- Jakarta ended up 0.21% at 5 187.99.

Palm oil firm Astra Agro Lestari gained 4.16% to 24 400 rupiah, while state-controlled miner Aneka Tambang slipped 1.53% to 965 rupiah.

- Malaysia's main stock index gained 0.21% to close at 1 749.37.

SapuraKencana Petroleum added 0.8% to 2.51 ringgit, while Tenaga Nasional rose 3.8% to 13.60. Budget carrier AirAsia fell 1.4% to 2.74 ringgit.

-- Singapore rose 0.59 percent, or 19.57 points, to close at 3,324.39.

Oil rig-maker Keppel Corp gained 0.12 percent to end at Sg$8.27 and Singapore Telecom finished 0.80 percent higher at Sg$3.90.

-- Bangkok was closed for a public holiday.