Market Report - Asia Ends Higher, Despite Oil

ZHANG:
Asian stocks followed Wall Steet's lead and gained broadly Friday, buoyed by the dollar's continued strength against the yen.

In Japan, exporters like Sony pushed the Nikkei to a five-month high as the greenback rose to 106 yen to the dollar.

The Japanese government said Friday that total subprime-related losses at Japanese financial firms hit $8 billion at the end of March. That's only a fraction of the losses at U.S. and European firms.

Meanwhile, commodities-linked shares in Australia rebounded from recent declines, with Woodside Petroleum helping to lift the Sydney benchmark from a seven-week low.

Oil rose above $128 a barrel Friday, part of a $6 jump from the previous day, although still off record highs hit in May.

And finally, Taiwan tech stocks like chip giant TSMC rose, pushing the benchmark to a one-week closing high.

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