Japan's Nikkei stock index jumps 2.4 percent

The Nikkei 225 index rose 322.60 points, or 2.4 percent, to 13,863.47.

"We're seeing a trend whereby investors are rotating back into some of the most heavily sold-off sectors in the belief that they are starting to look cheap, and driving the index higher," said Masanaga Kono a strategist at Societe Generale Asset Management in Tokyo.

Traders said investors were buying back financial stocks amid easing concerns over the global credit crisis.

Insurers, which typically have large investment portfolios, and banks were notable gainers on Friday. Insurer T&D Holdings surged 7.3 percent to 6,170 yen, while Japanese banking giant Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group rose 6.1 percent to 821,000 yen.

Investors also bought auto stocks as Japan's top automaker, Toyota Motor Corp., rose 3.1 percent to 5,290 yen.

Shares in Honda Motor Co. grew 3.7 percent to 3,330 yen despite its earning reports Friday showing net profit in the January-March quarter plunging 86 percent due to the yen's strength and tax payment provisions.

The Topix index of all the Tokyo Stock Exchange First Section issues also gained 32.34 points, or 2.5 percent, to 1,339.91.

In currencies, the dollar slipped against the yen, standing at 104.24 midafternoon in Tokyo from 104.28 late Thursday in New York. The euro was quoted at 1.5674 to the dollar from 1.5686.