Asia stocks mixed after US tech earnings

Sony Corp. declined 1.8 percent, while Matsushita Electrical Industrial Co., which sells products under its Panasonic brand, dropped 2.1 percent. Banking giant Mizuho Financial Group Inc. edged down 0.6 percent.

China stocks, though, got a boost from declining oil prices.

Oil giant Sinopec was one of the day's highlights, rising 7.8 percent. A company statement dated Thursday said its first-half profit will fall more than 50 percent from the same period last year, with Sinopec blaming government controls that limit its ability to pass on record-high crude costs to consumers.

Friday's stock rebound was expected on the recent news in oil prices, but it's hard to say that buying sentiment is recovering, said Zhang Linchang, strategist at Guotai Jun'an Securities in Shanghai.

"Macroeconomic concerns still stand because of the possibility of further monetary tightening measures and the pressure of inflation," Zhang said. "Investors should stay cautious."

Other top China stocks Friday were China Southern Airlines, up 8.7 percent, and China Life Insurance, the country's biggest life insurer, up 8.3 percent.

China's rise helped lift Hong Kong's benchmark, which swung into negative territory before ending higher.

Financials were among the day's gainers. HSBC advanced 2.6 percent, and Standard Chartered rose 2.7 percent.

Lower crude prices, though, hurt CNOOC. The oil producer lost 2.8 percent.

In currencies, the dollar traded at 106.01 yen midafternoon in Tokyo, down from 106.24 yen late Thursday in New York. The euro stood at $1.5868, compared with $1.5852.