Stocks in Asia-Pacific were mixed on Friday as investors continued to wait for a result from the U.S. election.
The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo gained 219.95 points, or 0.9%, to 24,325.23.
The Japanese yen traded at 103.46 per U.S. dollar, having strengthened from levels above 104.4 against the greenback this week.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index eked up 17.05 points, or 0.1%, to 25,712.97.
Investor focus on Friday likely remained on the U.S. election with the spotlight on a few battleground states such as Arizona and Pennsylvania. Based on one tally, Democratic nominee Joe Biden has racked up 253 electoral votes, leaving him 17 shy of the 270 needed to win the White House.
The Reserve Bank of Australia released its monetary policy statement for November.
The central bank said the coronavirus pandemic will have "long-lasting effects" on the Australian economy, and Gross Domestic Product will "unlikely" return to its pre-pandemic level till the end of 2021.
Following that release, the Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7261, after seeing an earlier high of $0.7284.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Federal Reserve said Wednesday stateside that it kept interest rates unchanged near zero, noting in its post-meeting statement that economic activity remains “well below” levels prior to the coronavirus pandemic.
In other markets
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 inched ahead 0.61 points to 4,885.72.
In Korea, the Kospi index obtained 2.71 points, or 0.1%, to 2,416.50.
In Taiwan, the Taiex Index grew 54.73 points, or 0.4%, to 12,973.53.
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index moved lower 9.94 points, or 0.4%, to 2,578.68
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 jumped 87.04 points, or 0.7%, to 12,337.02
In Australia, the ASX 200 hiked 50.57 points, or 0.8%, to 6,190.18.
