06:55 AM EDT, 09/27/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Asia's largest stock exchanges rallied Friday, adding to large Thursday gains, on prospects for economic stimulus from Beijing and monetary accommodation from the Bank of Japan.

Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo finished solidly in the green, although other regional exchanges waned.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened evenly but rose in the afternoon session, finishing up 2.3% after a supporter of monetary easing took the lead in leadership elections of the nation's ruling party.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 903.93 to 39,829.56, as gaining issues outnumbered losers 203 to 21.

Leading the upside was department-store chain Isetan Mitsukoshi, up 8.2%, while food company Nicherei declined 1.9%.

In economic news, the widely quoted core Tokyo consumer price index, or CPI, rose 2.0% on year in September, easing from the 2.6% rate logged in August, Statistics Japan reported. The core CPI excludes fresh food bills.

Meanwhile, the core-core Tokyo CPI, that also excludes energy costs, rose a modest 1.6% on year in September.

In other news, economic security minister Sanae Takaichi, a "vocal opponent of further rate hikes" by the Bank of Japan, may replace Prime Minister Fumio Kishida as the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, after ongoing party elections, reported The Japan News.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index opened sharply higher and held ground, finishing up 3.6% as traders again anticipated stronger stimulus measures from Beijing.

The broad gauge Hang Seng rose 707.72 to 20,632.30, as gaining issues outnumbered losers 74 to six. The Hang Seng TECH Index gained 5.8% on the day, while the Mainland Properties Index rose 7.8%.

Leading the upside was Wuxi AppTec, gaining 23.9%, while X China Construction Bank fell 3.4%.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite rose 2.9% to 3,087.53.

On the other regional exchanges, the S. Korean KOSPI declined 0.8%; the Taiwan TWSE lost 0.2%; the Australian ASX 200 added 0.1%; the Singapore Straits Times Index was down 0.2%, and the Thai Set retreated 0.3%. In late trading in Mumbai, the Sensex was down 0.3%.