ASIA STOCKS recovered

Asian stocks rebounded Friday as eased worries about the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy and an improvement in U.S. economic data sparked relief buying across the region.

The Nikkei Stock Average climbed 1.94% to 12,788.42, taking back some ground after the previous day’s 6.4% plunge, while the broader Topix gained 1.18% to 1,065.28.

In China, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index added 0.4%, while the Shanghai Composite rose 0.64%.

Elsewhere, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.5%, South Korea’s Kospi climbed 0.4%, and Taiwan’s Taiex rose 0.3%.

The stock gains in Japan also followed minutes of the Bank of Japan’s last meeting released Friday, which showed a few members of the policy-setting board believed the current monetary-policy framework doesn’t rule out the possibility of further measures, if needed.

Many Japanese exporters gained. Shares of Mazda Motor Corp. climbed 3.5% and Casio Computer Co. added 4.2%.

Also reversing some recent losses, real-estate major Mitsui Fudosan Co. jumped 3.8%, and rival Mitsubishi Estate Co. climbed 4.2%.

Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. climbed 3.9% after the Nikkei newspaper reported the board of directors had dismissed the company’s president and scuttled merger talks with Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Co. Mitsui Engineering gave up early gains to drop 3.5%.

In Hong Kong, shares of China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. climbed 0.9% after Reuters reported the refining giant is negotiating to join a $20 billion liquefied-natural-gas project run by Russia’s Novatek.

China Overseas Land & Investment Ltd. rose 1.7%, and Cheung Kong Holdings Ltd. added 2.3%, while heavyweight HSBC Holdings PLC climbed 0.8% among financials.

Mining issues jumped in Sydney, including a 3.3% gain in Rio Tinto Ltd. and a 1.2% rise for gold producer Newcrest Mining Ltd.

High-yield-dividend banking shares moved higher. Shares of Australia & New Zealand Banking Group bounced 2.5%, and Westpac Banking Corp. rose 2.1%.

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