Asia gets China trade boost, bitcoin shoots for the stars

Asian shares rallied for a second session on Friday as economic news from China and Japan beat all expectations, and investors marvelled at the meteoric ascent of the market’s new crypto-star, bitcoin. 

Beijing reported exports surged 12.3 percent in November from a year earlier, more than double the forecast, while imports climbed almost 18 percent. 

Iron ore and copper imports enjoyed a stellar rebound, which might help stem a recent pullback in commodities prices. 

Japan's Nikkei .N225 led the way as the yen eased on the dollar, rising 1.1 percent on top of Thursday's 1.45 percent bounce to be almost back where it started the week. 

Revised data showed Japan’s economy growing twice as fast as first thought as business spending jumped. 

Bidders were encouraged by a steadier performance on Wall Street, where the Dow .DJI rose 0.29 percent. The S&P 500 .SPX gained 0.29 percent and the Nasdaq .IXIC 0.54 percent.

The U.S. currency cleared 113.00 yen to reach 113.34 JPY=, while the euro touched a two-week low at $1.1766 EUR=. Against a basket of currencies the dollar held firm at 93.834 .DXY.