Asia Lifts Off as Oil Prices Drop

Asian stocks mostly rose on Friday, buoyed by Wall Street's rally and declining oil prices. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 1.4% to finish at 65,018.95 after the Bank of Japan raised its key interest rate to a 31-year high of 1.25%. This move was expected following the Federal Reserve's similar action earlier this week.

Despite recent intervention by the US and Japan to prop up the yen, the currency continued to weaken against the dollar, trading at around 157.73 yen per dollar. South Korea's Kospi jumped 2.7% to 6,894.23, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was nearly unchanged.

Brent crude oil prices fell by 2.15% to $102.57 a barrel, and U.S. crude dropped 1.92% to $99.95 per barrel, as concerns over the Middle East conflict eased slightly.