Nikkei rises; November gain biggest in a year

Japanese stocks rose to a two-week high on Friday as a weaker yen helped exporters, while falling oil prices benefited airline and railway stocks such as ANA Holdings Inc and East Japan Railway Co.

The Nikkei benchmark ended 1.2 percent higher to 17,459.85, the highest closing price since November 14. The benchmark gained 0.6 percent for the week and jumped 6.4 percent for the month, the biggest monthly gain since last November.

Since October 31, the Nikkei gained because of the Bank of Japan's surprise easing and the Government Pension Investment Fund's decision to increase its allocation to Japanese stocks.

Also helping sentiment on Friday was better-than-expected Japanese industrial output, which unexpectedly rose 0.2 percent in October.