ASIA MARKETS: Japan's Nikkei Spikes Above 21,000 For First Time Since 1996

Asian markets mostly rise to wrap week of milestones

Japan's surging stock market set the tone for Asia Friday, with its leading index topping 21,000 for the first time since 1996.

The Nikkei rose 0.9% to 21,155.18, even as the yen strengthened slightly. Japan's benchmark index hit a two-decade closing high.

Chinese trade figures and, later, U.S. consumer-price data were also factors, OCBC Bank said.

Exports climbed 9% from a year ago in yuan terms in September, while imports jumped 20%.

Chinese stock indexes remained essentially unchanged after the release of trade data, while other locales didn't budge from prerelease levels, either. That came amid a lack of fresh reasons for investors to heavily buy equities further, after broad gains seen around the world the past month sent indexes to record and multidecade highs.

The Shanghai Composite Index rose 4.42, or 0.1%, to 3,390.52 as traders await new policy initiatives from the Communist Party Congress, which starts next week.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 17.40, or just less than 0.1%, at 28,476.43,

New Zealand's stock benchmark gained 0.3% Friday, a record-extending ninth-straight rise -- all of them new highs. The index closed at 8,089.32 Friday.

South Korea's Kospi had notched all-time closing levels in the past two sessions but sputtered Friday, closing down less than 0.1% as index heavyweight Samsung Electronics Co. (005930.SE) fell 0.6%. That trimmed the stock's jump this week to 6.3% and came even as the company projected third-quarter results that were slightly above consensus forecasts.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 13, 2017 07:52 ET (11:52 GMT)