Asian stock markets were mostly on the rise in anticipation of a U.S. jobs report, although key markets such as Tokyo and Shanghai remained closed for holidays.
The Japanese yen saw a slight increase against the U.S. dollar, likely influenced by significant central bank actions. The Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported that the Bank of Japan may have spent approximately 8 trillion yen (around £42 billion) this week to prevent the yen from weakening further against the dollar.
While a depreciating yen generally benefits Japanese companies with substantial overseas revenues, sharp fluctuations in the forex market can disrupt corporate strategies. A significantly weaker yen also raises the costs of importing essential commodities like oil.
The dollar was trading lower at 153.08, down from 153.65 late Thursday, while the pound appreciated slightly by 0.2% to $1.255.
In other parts of Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose by 1% to 18,301.11, reflecting gains in Wall Street, driven by optimistic actions from Chinese leadership to boost the economy, which spurred investments in technology stocks. Alibaba saw a 3.5% increase, and JD.com rose by 4.2%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 advanced by 0.7% to 7,637.00, and Seoul’s Kospi marginally increased by 0.2%. Taiwan’s Taiex was up by 0.8%.
In the U.S., the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 0.9% to 38,225.66, and both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite saw gains of 0.9% and 1.5%, reaching 5,064.20 and 15,840.96, respectively.
U.S. Treasury yields fluctuated following Federal Reserve actions and economic data, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. bonds dropping slightly to 4.583% from 4.591% on Wednesday.
