Asia Pacific markets gain -

Shares in the Asia Pacific markets rose on Friday, with Hong Kong stocks leading gains as a volatile trading week comes to a close, reports CNBC.

The Hang Seng index closed up 2.96 per cent at 20,717.24, while the Hang Seng Tech index spiked 4.74 per cent to end the session at 4,284.42. Chinese stocks listed in Hong Kong closed higher, with Xpeng up 6.99 per cent and Baidu rising 5.19 per cent.

In other developments, China kept its one-year benchmark lending rate on hold at 3.7 per cent, but cut its five-year loan prime rate (LPR) by 15 basis points. It was the second cut this year.

"This is a long-anticipated move against the backdrop of Covid disruptions, and the reduction is more than the market expected," said Chaoping Zhu, a global market strategist and JPMorgan Asset Management.

Mainland Chinese stocks climbed on Friday. The Shanghai Composite closed 1.6 per cent higher at 3,146.57, while the Shenzhen Component gained 1.82 per cent to close at 11,454.53.

Shares of Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio surged in its Singapore debut on Friday, the third exchange its shares are listed on.

The stock popped at the open, rising by nearly 20 per cent before paring most gains to close around 2.4 per cent higher.

Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 1.27 per cent to 26,739.03, and the Topix advanced 0.93 per cent to 1,877.37. Japan's core consumer prices, which include energy costs but not fresh food, rose 2.1 per cent in April compared to a year earlier, in line with economists' estimates, Reuters reported.