Asian Stocks Finish With Gains

Updated from 12:38 a.m. EST

Asian stocks closed higher Friday as Wall Street surged and traders hoped progress on a solution to the global financial crisis could be worked out as the G20 nations meet in Washington this weekend.

Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average finished up 2.7% to 8462.39. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong rose 2.4%, while the S&P/ASX 200 index in Australia closed higher by 1.4%.

China's Shanghai composite index rose 3.1%. The index has risen 13.7% for the week, the third biggest weekly gain in 12 years.

Stock futures in the U.S. were lower Friday after stocks on Wall Street Thursday made a late-day surge. S&P 500 futures declined 14.60 points to 893.10, and were 17.08 points below fair value. Nasdaq futures fell 12.25 points to 1222.25, and were trading 19.23 points below fair value.

On Thursday, stocks in the U.S. rose off their lows and turned sharply higher into the close, erasing early losses that had been spurred by a sharp rise in unemployment numbers and discouraging news from the retail, auto and technology sectors.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which earlier in the day lost 313 points to sink below 8000, rose 552.59 points, or 6.7%, to end the volatile day at 8835.25. The S&P 500 soared 58.99 points, or 6.9%, to 911.29, and the Nasdaq surged 97.49 points, or 6.5%, to 1596.70.

The gathering beginning Friday of the G20 nations could bring decisions on mending the troubled global financial system but is unlikely to produce any quick cure for the slowdown gripping major developed economies.

In Japan, shares of exporters such as Sony(SNE Quote), Toyota(TM Quote), and Honda(HMC Quote) rose. Shares of Mizuho Financial (MFG Quote) fell after reporting that its first-half profit declined 71% because of fallout from the global financial crisis.

Shares in Europe were higher. The FTSE 100 index in London rose 3.3% and the DAX in Frankfurt was up by 3.7%.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.