Asia shares higher

Asian markets rose for a second straight day on Friday following a positive lead from Wall Street, but Bangkok retreated after the army announced a coup following months of deadly protests. The greenback made further inroads against the yen as improved sentiment led investors into higher yielding, riskier assets. Tokyo climbed 0.87 per cent, or 124.38 points, to 14,462.17, Sydney put on 0.23 per cent, or 12.9 points, to 5,492.8 and Seoul was flat, edging up 1.58 points to 2,017.17. Shanghai rose 0.66 per cent, or 13.28 points, to 2,034.57 and Hong Kong was marginally higher, adding 12.10 points to 22,965.86. Sentiment remains buoyant after Thursday’s gains that were fuelled by a sharp improvement in Chinese manufacturing activity and positive comments about interest rates from the US Federal Reserve. In Thailand the military seized power on Thursday, declaring curbs on civil liberties and a nationwide night-time curfew that has already hit work at Japanese car giants Toyota and Honda. Thai baht rose to 32.50 against the dollar from 32.54 on Thursday.
In other markets:
-- Bangkok lost 0.60 per cent or 8.37 points to 1,396.84. Airports of Thailand dropped 2.37 per cent to 185.50 baht, while telecoms company Total Access Communication fell 2.02 per cent to 121.00 baht. -- Kuala Lumpur’s main stock index lost 5.90 points or 0.31 per cent to close at 1,869.22. SapuraKencana Petroleum fell 2.4 per cent to 4.09 ringgit, while plantation giant Sime Darby dropped 0.1 per cent to 9.63. DiGi.com gained 0.4 per cent to 5.40 ringgit. -- Jakarta closed up 0.06 per cent, or 3.18 points, at 4,973.06. Bank Permata gained 0.75 per cent at 1,340 rupiah, while Indah Kiat Pulp & Paper lost 0.39 per cent at 1,285 rupiah. – Mumbai’s Stock Exchange rose 1.31 per cent or 318.95 points to end at 24,693.35 points. Truck maker Ashok Leyland surged 13.67 per cent to 32.85 rupees and Canara Bank gained 13.25 per cent to 469.75 rupees. – Singapore’s Straits Times Index rose 0.38 per cent, or 12.36 points, to 3,278.02. Agri-business firm Olam International rose 0.45 per cent to Sg$2.24 while DBS Bank gained 0.18 per cent to Sg$16.99. -- Taipei added 0.43 per cent, or 38.59 points, to 9,008.22. Smartphone maker HTC rose 1.22 per cent to Tw$165.5 while Hon Hai was 1.09 percent higher at Tw$93.0. -- Wellington rose 0.44 per cent, or 22.53 points, to 5,151.37. Air New Zealand was up 1.15 per cent at NZ$2.195 and Warehouse Group gained 0.29 per cent to N$3.45. -- Manila closed 0.28 per cent lower, dipping 19.25 points to 6,811.33. Ayala Land fell 1.38 per cent to 32.15 pesos but BDO Unibank rose 2.87 per cent to 89.50 pesos, according to UNB.