TOKYO, Dec 29 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average rose on its final trading day of the year on Friday as banking shares rebounded, putting the index on track to gain nearly 20 percent in 2017.
The Nikkei was up 0.3 percent at 22,841.64 at the end of morning trading, while the broader Topix was also up 0.3 percent, to 1,823.85.
The stronger global economy, as well as domestic political stability and the Bank of Japan's ultra-easy monetary policy, helped lift Japanese corporate earnings in 2017, which in turn helped push the Nikkei up 19.5 percent and the Topix up 20.1 percent for the year.
On Friday, the banking subindex was 1.1 percent higher, recouping some of its 1.4 percent slump in the previous session. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group gained 1.4 percent.
SoftBank Group Corp shares added 0.5 percent, after news on Thursday that a SoftBank-led consortium will buy a large number of shares of Uber Technologies Inc in a deal that values the ride-services firm at $48 billion.
Asahi Glass Co shares were 1.8 percent higher, after Nikkei business daily reported that the company is expected to post an operating profit of around 125 billion yen for its fiscal year through Dec. 31.
(Reporting by Lisa Twaronite; Editing by Richard Borsuk)