Asian stocks close week with gains, European markets on rise

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - Most Asian stock markets closed with gains on Friday, while European exchanges were on the rise as indices try to recover from a week of losses.​​​​​​​

The Asia Dow, which includes blue-chip companies in the region, was down 64 points, or 2%, to 3,274 at 0943GMT.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 stock exchange gained 678 points, or 2.64%, to 26,427.

The Hang Seng, the benchmark for blue-chip stocks trading on the Hong Kong stock exchange, was the best performer in Asia, soaring by 518 points, or 2.68%, to 19,898.

China’s Shanghai stock exchange was up by 29 points, or 0.96%, to finish at 3,084.

India’s Sensex benchmark was the only negative performer of the day, dropping 220 points, or 0.42%, to 52,709.

The Singapore index increased 25 points, or 0.82%, to 3,190.

After consecutive days of massive losses, European stock exchanges managed to mount a slight recovery on Friday.

The STOXX Europe 600, which includes around 90% of the market capitalization of the European market in 17 countries, was up 5.3 points, or 1.25%, to 429.70 points at 0948GMT.

London’s FTSE 100 rose 107 points, or 1.48%, to 7,340, while Germany’s DAX 30 gained 155 points, or 1.13%, to 13,895.

France’s CAC 40 climbed 83 points, or 1.34%, to 6,290, and Italy’s FTSE MIB added 242 points, or 1.03%, to 23,810.

Spain’s IBEX 35 increased 84 points, or 1.03%, to 8,284.