Asian markets close week in positive territory

By Aysu Bicer

ANKARA (AA) - Major stock markets in Asia closed Friday up after US lawmakers agreed to raise the country's debt ceiling and optimism on bilateral ties between Washington and Beijing.

Household expenditures in Japan in August remained below expectations, while the foreign trade balance gave a deficit despite the expectations of surplus.

China's service sector Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) rose to 53.4, recovering from historical lows of 46.7 last month.

Also, the Indian Central Bank did not change the policy rate of 4%, in line with expectations.

The Asia Dow, which includes blue-chip companies in the region, earned 37.02 points, or 0.98%, to close at nearly 3,832 points.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 stock exchange also increased by 370.73 points, or 1.34%, to 28,048.

The Hang Seng, the benchmark for blue-chip stocks trading on the Hong Kong exchange, saw an increase of 136.2 points, or 0.55%, to 24,837.

China's Shanghai index increased 24 points, or 0.67%, to 3,592 points.

The Singapore index rose by 9.72 points, or 0.32%, to reach 3,110, while the Indian Sensex benchmark increased by 431.09 points, or 0.72%, to reach 60,108 points.

The positive trends came amid a meeting between high-level diplomats from the US and China in Switzerland on Thursday to discuss risk management in the countries' bilateral relations and the resolution of international problems.​​​​​​​