05:43 AM EST, 02/21/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Asian stock markets moved higher on Friday, after a strong earnings report from internet-commerce colossus Alibaba (BABA), and a softer yen.

Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo finished in the green, while other regional exchanges were uneven.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened lower, but rose to the close, finishing up 0.3% as an easing yen against the US dollar provided relief to export issues.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 98.90 to 38,776.94, as gaining issues outnumbered losers 130 to 93.

Leading the upside was video-game maker DeNA, gaining 13.9%, while heavy-equipment maker IHI lost 3.8%.

In economic news, Japan's consumer price index (CPI) in January rose 4% on year, reported Statistics Japan.

Japan's much-quoted CPI-core, that strips out fresh food bills, rose 3.2% on year in January, which was above the Bank of Japan's CPI-core target of a 2% annual rate of inflation.

Japan's flash composite purchasing managers index (PMI), a combination of the nation's factory and service sectors, rose to 51.6 in February, up from 51.1 in January, and edging further above the 50-marker that separates growth from contraction, reported S&P Global, citing its monthly survey.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened higher and rallied steadily, finishing up 4% after Alibaba posted results that topped expectations, triggering a tech-sector rally.

The broad gauge Hang Seng rose 900.94 to 23,477.92, as gaining issues outnumbered losers 57 to 24. The Hang Seng TECH Index gained 6.5% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index rose 1.7%.

Leading the upside was telecom-service China Unicom HK, gaining 15.7%, while coal-producer China Shenhua Energy declined 2.7%.

Index heavyweight Alibaba gained 14.6% on the day.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite rose 0.9% to 3,379.11.

On the other regional exchanges, the S. Korean KOSPI was steady; the Taiwan TWSE inclined 1%; the Australian ASX 200 declined 0.3%; the Singapore Straits Times Index rose 0.1%, and the Thai Set was flat. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was down 0.6%.

In other news, India's flash composite purchasing managers index (PMI) rose to 60.6 in February, up from 57.7 in January, and indicative of strong expansion in the nation's private-sector, reported S&P Global.