Japan's Nikkei average rose 1.9 per cent to hit its highest close in 10 months on Friday, buoyed by growing investor confidence after a slew of solid earnings that saw Sony post a smaller-than-expected loss.
Property shares rose after Mitsui Fudosan booked a 32 per cent rise in quarterly profit, and analysts said the run of largely solid results and some positive surprises, such as Honda Motor Co beating expectations, are likely to help buoy the Nikkei well into next week.
The benchmark Nikkei's rise brought its gain for the week to 4.1 per cent, while it also booked a 4 per cent climb for July. The monthly rise was its fifth straight month of gains, its longest run since 2005.
But some high-profile stocks lost ground after disappointing earnings with Nintendo sinking 4.6 per cent after it reported a fall in profit on slowing demand for its Wii videogame console and a stronger yen.
In active trade, the benchmark Nikkei gained 191.62 points to 10,356.83, the highest finish since October 6th.
Along with other stock markets, the Nikkei has rallied since its March lows, recovering more than 40 per cent.
The broader Topix added 1.4 percent to 950.26.
Analysts also said technical charts boded well for the Nikkei. Its 25-day moving average appears set to cross above its 50-day moving average, a move called the "Golden Cross" that often precedes gains.
In a sign of the growing positive mood, public broadcaster NHK said Toyota's loss for this business year will likely be several tens of billions of yen less than forecast by the carmaker thanks to strong sales of hybrid cars.
Toyota, which will report earnings on Tuesday, gained 1.5 per cent to 3,990 yen.
Sony shot up 6.8 per cent to 2,675 yen after it posted a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss, helped by improvement in its struggling flat TV business, and said it was aiming to beat its official forecast and at least break even for the full year.
Fujitsu, Japan's biggest IT services company, gained 4.7 per cent to 622 yen after it nudged up its annual outlook for a bigger profit, while Sharp rose 2.3 per cent to 1,053 yen on a smaller-than-expected loss and a brokerage upgrade.
Solid earnings extended across sectors.
Mitsui Fudosan, Japan's largest property developer, climbed 5 per cent to 1,740 yen after reporting a 32 per cent rise in quarterly profit helped by a solid performance in apartment sales and by its lease business.
Nintendo declined to 25,590 yen.
Mizuho Financial Group trimmed earlier gains to rise 1.4 per cent to 215 yen after it reported an unexpected fourth straight quarterly loss, hit by losses on its stock portfolio and credit default swaps, but stuck to its full-year forecast.
Shares of Seiko Epson lost 5.8 per cent to 1,456 yen after the maker of inkjet printers and electronics components posted an operating loss, hit by a firmer yen and slumping sales.
Reuters