Asian stocks ended mostly higher on Friday despite uncertainty around the U.S. presidential race as vote counting extended into its third day.
Democratic nominee Joe Biden was edging closer to victory, but his Party appeared unlikely to win the Senate, dimming chances of tough financial regulations and higher taxes.
Chinese shares fell slightly after the country temporarily banned the entry of foreigners from at least eight countries to guard against new coronavirus infections from abroad.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite index dropped 7.97 points, or 0.24 percent, to 3,312.16, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index ended marginally higher at 25,712.97.
Japanese shares hit a 29-year high as Biden edged closer to the 270-electroral-vote threshold needed to win the presidency. The Nikkei average jumped 219.95 points, or 0.91 percent, to 24,325.23, marking the highest level since November 1991. The broader Topix index closed 0.52 percent higher at 1,658.49.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group lost 2.2 percent while Fast Retailing advanced 1.5 percent. Toyota Motor rose half a percent ahead of its second-quarter earnings release.
The average of household spending in Japan was down 10.2 percent year-on-year in September, a government report showed today. That beat forecasts for a decline of 10.7 percent following the 6.9 percent drop in August.
On a monthly basis, household spending rose 3.8 percent - beating forecasts for a gain of 2.2 percent following the 1.7 percent gain a month earlier.
Australian markets advanced amid bets that a Biden victory is unlikely to result in a major change in U.S. foreign policy. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 climbed 50.60 points, or 0.82 percent, to 6,190.20 while the broader All Ordinaries index ended up 51 points, or 0.80 percent, at 6,395.
Financial conglomerate Macquarie Group rallied 2.3 percent after its first-half profit came ahead of its expectations.
Gold miner Evolution Mining jumped 6.7 percent, Newcrest added 3.5 percent and Norther Star Resources soared 7.2 percent after bullion prices posted big gains on Thursday on a weaker dollar.
On the economic front, the latest survey from the Australian Industry Group showed that the services sector in Australia swung to expansion in October, with a seasonally adjusted Performance of Service Index score of 51.4, up from 36.2 in September.
Seoul stocks ended higher for the fifth day running amid reduced uncertainties from the U.S. presidential election. The benchmark Kospi inched up 2.71 points, or 0.11 percent, to 2,416.50 on expectations of a Biden victory. Celltrion gained 2 percent and LG Chem jumped as much as 6.4 percent, while Hyundai Motor lost 2.6 percent.
New Zealand shares ended off their day's highs, with financials and utilities pacing the gainers. The benchmark NZX-50 hit as high as 12,416.94 before ending the session up 87.04 points, or 0.71 percent, at 12,337.02. Synlait Milk soared 7.6 percent after settling a long-running dispute over its factory in Pokeno.
U.S. stocks rose for a fourth straight session overnight, as Biden seemed poised to unseat President Trump and a report showed the number of people filing for jobless benefits held largely steady last week.
The Federal Reserve restated its pledge to use all its tools to help the economy from the coronavirus pandemic, but did not announce any new measures.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 rallied around 2 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index spiked 2.6 percent.
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