Japan's Nikkei average jumped 2.2 per cent on Friday, moving away from a four-month low hit earlier this week, as investor sentiment brightened on hopes for an upbeat US jobs report later in the day.
The Nikkei ended at 14,462.41, recovering from a four-month trough of 13,995.86 set on Wednesday. It was the biggest daily percentage rise since January 29.
For the week, however, the Nikkei dropped 3 per cent, its fifth consecutive week of declines.
The Topix added 2.3 per cent on the day to 1,189.14.
The JPX-Nikkei Index 400, an index launched this year comprised of firms with high return on equity and strong corporate governance, rose 2.2 per cent to 10,737.56.
The US nonfarm payrolls report is expected to show that employers added 185,000 jobs in January, according to the median estimate of economists polled by Reuters.
Copyright @ Thomson Reuters 2014
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