Asia-Pacific markets were mixed on Friday, as shares of China Evergrande Group surged in Hong Kong following media reports that the embattled developer is set to pay off a coupon payment on a dollar-denominated bond.
The Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo regained 96.27 points, or 0.3%, to end the week at 28,804.85.
The Japanese yen traded at 113.90 per U.S. dollar, still stronger than levels above 114.4 seen against the greenback earlier this week.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng vaulted 109.4 points, or 0.4%, to 26,126.93.
Shares of Evergrande in Hong Kong surged 4.3% on Friday. Evergrande Property Services Group also saw its stock jump 1.7%.
Chinese media reported Friday that debt-ridden developer China Evergrande Group was preparing to pay the interest on a bond that was due September 23 before the grace period ended on Saturday.
South Korea’s Kospi closed mildly lower, with shares of Samsung SDI surging nearly 2% following an announcement that the firm will form a joint venture with automaker Stellantis to produce battery cells and modules for North America.
The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.75 after seeing an earlier low of $0.7451.
In other markets
In China, the CSI 300 gained 31.71 points, or 0.6%, to 4,959.73.
In Taiwan, the Taiex slumped 0.77 points to 16,888.74.
In Korea, the Kospi index sank 1.17 points to 3,006.16.
In Singapore, the Straits Times progressed 16.64 points, or 0.5%, to 3,205.14
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 retreated 32.74 points, or 0.3%, to 13,093.24
In Australia, the ASX 200 inched up 0.11 points at 7,415.48.
