Asian shares rose on Friday after robust U.S. housing data supported a late tech-driven rally on Wall Street, with investors picking up the pieces a day after a broad regional index posted its biggest daily loss in more than three months.
Asian shares
- MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was 0.4% higher, after slumping 2.15% a day earlier, its biggest daily drop since June 11.
- European shares seemed set for similar tepid gains.
- The euro Stoxx50 futures up 0.48% at 0550 GMT, while German DAX futures were up 0.5%.
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Chinese blue-chips were flat in a choppy session.
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South Korean shares were 0.57% higher.
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Australian shares jumped 1.3%, with financials rising the most in more than three months on plans to ease bank lending laws.
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Japan’s Nikkei added 0.5%.
Currencies
- The dollar was pushed off Thursday’s two-month highs, causing it to slip to 105.34 versus the yen.
- The euro was flat at $1.1666.
- The dollar index, which measures the dollar against a basket of six major peers, flatlined around 94.350
Commodities
- Gold set for its worst week in more than a month.
- On Friday, spot gold was 0.16% lower at $1,865.16 per ounce.
- U.S. crude was 0.15% higher at $40.46 per barrel and global benchmark Brent crude was up 0.1% at $41.98 per barrel.