Asian Stocks Rise with Wall Street, Oil Prices Decline

Asian stock markets mostly rose in early Friday trading, following a rally on Wall Street and declining oil prices. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 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, coming after the Federal Reserve also raised its key rate this week. Pressures had been mounting on Japan to raise rates due to concerns about the weakening yen, with the U.S. dollar rising to 157.11 Japanese yen from 155.95 yen.

Falling oil prices and easing pressure from the bond market helped Wall Street reverse many of its losses from the prior day, with the S&P 500 jumping 1.1% for just its second rise in the last nine days.