DEBORAH MARCHINI, CNN ANCHOR: Markets in Asia posted solid gains today as optimistic investors took a cue from Wall Street's rally Thursday, and a major and controversial political move by Japan's prime minister is also in the news.</s>DAVID HAFFENREFFER, CNN ANCHOR: Michelle Han wraps up the day in Asia from our studios in Hong Kong -- Michelle.</s>MICHELLE HAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Deborah, David, well, good morning to you. And let's start in Japan, where as you mentioned, Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori has already dissolved the parliament's lower house of representatives. Now this paves the way for a general election on June 25. The prime minister has been struggling with a slump in his popularity recently, but many pundits predict that his coalition will still win in June. The move didn't seem to have a huge, immediate impact on the market. As for the market, investors here were definitely cheering new U.S. economic reports showing signs that the economy may be slowing down. Yesterday's rally on Wall Street also helped move markets higher. Now let's check the closing numbers. Tokyo's Nikkei average rose 106 points, or almost one percent, although it was much higher early in the session. High-tech stocks Sony, Pioneer and Toshiba finished sharply higher, all of them up about five percent for the day. Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 342 points, or two percent. Telecom and China-related shares were the big winners there. The index is also up a good 11 percent for the week. And Seoul's Kospi index continues its advance, it rose three percent on the day and 15 percent this week, still the region's top performing market. And that wraps up the Asia's trading day. Back to you, Deborah and David.</s>HAFFENREFFER: All right, Michelle, thanks very much. Have a good weekend.
Asian Markets Post Solid Gains; Japan's PM Paves Way for General Election