Nikkei hits 3-month closing high, but banks tumble

Japan's Nikkei stock average gained 0.5 percent on Friday, hitting a three-month closing high, though Mizuho Financial Group and other banks tumbled as worries about bank shareholding losses reignited.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Japan's third-largest bank, went untraded after it said it faces a net loss of $3.9 billion for the financial year just ended and will raise as much as $8 billion through the sale of shares.

The benchmark Nikkei gained 48.05 points to 8,964.11 after a day of see-saw trade that saw it venture into negative territory. But it gained 2.4 percent on the week for its fifth successive week of gains, the first such run in nearly a year.