Asian Stocks Rise on Wall Street Rally and Falling Oil Prices

Asian stocks mostly rose on Friday, boosted by a rally on Wall Street and falling oil prices. The Nikkei 225, Japan's benchmark index, gained 1.9% to 65,332.57 after the Bank of Japan raised its benchmark interest rate to 1.25%, a 31-year high.

The move was widely anticipated following the Federal Reserve's key rate hike earlier in the week. The US has been pressuring Japan to raise rates due to concerns about the weakening yen, which has seen intervention efforts from both nations recently.

South Korea's Kospi jumped 2.3% to 6,866.83, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was little changed, slipping less than 0.1%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng edged up nearly 0.7%, and the Shanghai Composite added 1.0%.

The recent drop in oil prices helped pull yields lower in the bond market and removed some pressure on stocks. The price of a barrel of Brent crude oil slid from nearly $110 earlier in the week to around $103.83, while US crude fell to $101.06 per barrel.