Asian Shares Rise; Hang Seng Gains 1.6%
NEW YORK (
) -- Asian stocks ended higher Friday, with the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong the big winner with a gain of 1.6%.
The Nikkei 225 stock average in Tokyo rose 0.3%, while the Shanghai Composite gained 0.9%.
Stocks in the region rose on the back of strong retail data from the U.S., but were tempered by continued worries over a selloff in Greek debt.
European shares were higher. The FTSE in London gained 0.9%, the DAX in Frankfurt rose 0.9% and the CAC in Paris gained 1.2%.
Premarket futures suggested stocks in the U.S. would rise at the open Friday.
On Thursday in the U.S., the
Dow Jones Industrial Average
rose 29.55, or 0.3%, to 10,927.07. The
S&P 500
rose 0.3% while the
Nasdaq
rose 0.2%.
Retailers such as
Target
(TGT) - Get Report
and
Gap
(GPS) - Get Report
posted solid increases in March retail sales, topping the estimates of analysts.
-- Reported by Joseph Woelfel in New York.
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