Sunny weekend for Asian stocks

Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.4 percent, and the broader Topix rose slightly more, by 0.5 percent.

Shenzhen and Shanghai in China also climbed by 0.2 and 0.3 percent, respectively.

The Hong Kong-based Hang Seng rose 0.3 percent.

Kospi posted one of Friday morning's stronger gains, up 0.9 percent.