Asian stocks rose Friday ahead of the first round of voting in France’s closely watched presidential election, after Wall Street rallied on strong corporate earnings.
KEEPING SCORE: Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.8 percent to 18,585.31 and the Shanghai Composite Index edged up 0.1 percent to 3,174.74. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng advanced 0.3 percent to 24,145.52 and Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 added 0.7 percent to 5,861.50. Seoul’s Kospi rose 0.9 percent to 2,168.12 and benchmarks in New Zealand, Taiwan and Southeast Asia also advanced.
