Japanese shares hit a fresh three-month high on Friday, closing higher for the fourth fourth session in a row.The Nikkei 225 index reversed early losses to close 0.1% higher to 19,879.81.
This week's rise of 1.4% is the fifth week in a row of gains for the index. Japanese markets will be closed for a public holiday on Monday.It was a choppy day's trading in Tokyo with early losses being attributed to a stronger yen.A stronger yen is considered bad for Japanese exporters because it makes their goods more expensive to buy overseas.Rest of AsiaThe rest of Asia traded mixed on a weak lead from Wall Street, where shares saw choppy trade as the prospect of higher interest rates gained momentum.The Dow Jones and S&P 500 closed flat after many firms reported earnings that showed a mixed picture of the US economy.The markets had been rallying this week on the Federal Reserve's hints that the US economy was strong enough to raise rates in December.Chinese shares reversed earlier losses to head higher, with the Shanghai Composite up 0.37% to 3,630.50, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index finished the trading day up 1.13% to 22,754.72.In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 index closed up 0.3% to 5,256.1 - gaining 4% for the week, which is its second largest weekly increase in four years.South Korea's benchmark Kospi index finished flat at 1,989.86 points despite positive comments from the government about the state of the economy.The country's finance minister Choi Kyung-hwan said the government will maintain policies aimed at boosting domestic demand over the next year and they will help the economy achieve 3% growth or higher in 2016.