Hong Kong - Asian markets mostly rose Friday, with Japan's Nikkei up for an eleventh straight session as the yen sat near 12-year lows against the dollar, while Shanghai fell for a second day after a breakneck rally.
The euro edged up but continues to face downward pressure over concerns that Greece and its creditors will not reach an agreement on reforming its bailout, with the head of the IMF warning the crisis could end with the country leaving the eurozone.
Tokyo rose 0.11 percent, Sydney added 1.45 percent and Seoul gained 0.36 percent.
Shanghai plunged four percent at one point, extending its painful losses after a 6.5 percent fall on Thursday on concerns about tighter rules for margin trading. However, the index recovered slightly to sit 2.00 percent lower, while Hong Kong dipped 0.36 percent.
Wall Street's three main markets ended lower Thursday, spooked by worries about Greece's long-running debt talks as well as China's heavy sell-off.
The Dow dipped 0.20 percent, the S&P 500 shed 0.12 percent and the Nasdaq lost 0.17 percent.
However, Japanese traders brushed off the negative lead, with exporters pushed higher by the continuing weakness of the yen.
The Japanese currency has fallen about 3.5 percent against the dollar this month as the US Federal Reserve prepares to hike interest rates at some point this year, while the Bank of Japan considers loosening monetary policy further.
The dollar was at 123.82 yen after touching 124.46 yen at one point in New York, the highest level since December 2002. However, it is still up from 123.70 yen in late Tokyo trade Thursday.
AFP
