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Asian stocks aim for fifth weekly gain, turn positive for the year

Asian stock markets advanced on Friday following an oil-driven rally on Wall Street yesterday.

Scorecard

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.6% in early trade, entering positive territory for the year for the first time.

South Korea's Kospi added 0.1% to 1,990.97. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 0.7% to 20,639.83. China’s Shanghai Composite index rose 1.9% to 2,959.45.

Nikkei bucked the trend and dipped 1.25% as the dollar’s fall against the yen is seen hurting the country’s exporters.

Oil’s more than 50% recovery from an almost 13-year low set in January has helped risk assets stabilize across the globe. Federal Reserve’s cautious stance on further rate hikes prompted investors to rebuild their bets on riskier assets.

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