Asia report: Markets edge ahead after choppy end to week

Asian markets closed mostly in the black on Friday, managing to edge ahead after a choppy end to the week.

The Shanghai Composite finished up 0.95% at 2,767.21, as finance ministers and central bank heads of the Group of 20 nations got together for a two-day meeting in the city.

An unexpected, sharp decline in the country's markets on Thursday had upped the ante for the meeting, with much pressure on China to do something about the global anxiety surrounding its economy and money markets.

At a press conference ahead of the meeting, China's top central banker Zhou Xiaochuan tried to reassure the country's trading partners that Beijing had no plans to drastically weaken renminbi, and that it had a well-stocked toolbox to support the wayward economy.

The yuan traded steady on Friday, as the People's Bank guided the onshore currency weaker against the greenback for a fourth session. It was last at CNY 6.5368 to the USD.

Worries were still in the air over the loosely controlled currency, after greater-than-anticipated falls both during the summer crash last year and the depressed trading in January. Traders were concerned the economy was doing worse than the government was letting on.

The week of volatility on the mainland had little effect over in Hong Kong, where the Hang Seng raced ahead by 2.52%. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average closed up 0.3%, South Korea's Kospi was up 0.08%, and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was roughly flat, finishing down 0.02%.

Japanese electronics maker Sharp fell 11% on Friday, after Taiwanese components assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry - better known as Foxconn - said it was delaying the signing of an agreement to acquire Sharp.

The iPhone assembler said it was reviewing Sharp's newly-disclosed contingent liabilities, totalling around JPY 350bn (£2.21bn).

Japan's yen was last 0.02% stronger against the dollar, at JPY 113.02.

Australia's dollar traded up near its highest levels against the greenback for 2016 so far, as local markets looked ahead to the Reserve Bank's policy-setting next Tuesday.

The central bank was largely expected to keep interest rates on hold at 2%, though there was speculation the board was unhappy with the level of the currency.

It last traded 0.39% weaker at AUD 1.3874 per US dollar.

New Zealand's benhmark S&P/NZX 50 was also largely flat, like its Australian cousin, falling 0.01%. Medical software provider Orion jumped 15% after announcing a deal to provide its platform to Nasdaq-listed Cognizant Group, which could triple the number of patients it reaches.

The Kiwi strengthened against its US counterpart, last trading 0.33% ahead at NZD 1.4827.