Shares in Asia up following Fed minutes

Shares in Asia rose on Friday after minutes from the US Federal Reserve's latest meeting suggested it may wait to raise rates.

The minutes from last month's meeting revealed the Fed thought the US could have coped with an interest rate rise.

However, the members of the Federal Open Markets Committee had decided it was "prudent to wait" for more information before making a move.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index closed up 1.64% at 18,438.67 points.

Tokyo-listed shares of Fast Retailing, the owner of the Uniqlo clothing chain, sank nearly 10% after its latest results disappointed investors.

On Thursday, the company reported operating profits of 164.5bn yen ($1.4bn; £890m) for the 2014-15 financial year, well below its own forecast for 200bn yen. It also announced it was scaling back its rate of expansion in the US.

Investors were closely watching mainland Chinese shares on Friday after it closed 3% higher on Thursday following a week-long public holiday.

The Shanghai Composite index closed up 1.3% at 3,183.15, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index ended 0.5% higher at 22,458.80. The Hang Seng was up 4.4% for the week, which is its best performance since early July.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 closed up 1.33% at 5,279.70.

South Korea's markets were closed for a national day holiday.