A boost for Chinese tech stocks helped lift Asian stocks Friday despite selling pressure in Japan as traders await US jobs data that will help illuminate the path ahead for interest rates.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index touched the highest level since November in Friday trading as a gauge of Chinese technology stocks trading in the city was poised to enter a technical bull market.
Shares in mainland China and Taiwan also advanced, running against the grain of declines in Japan and South Korea.
The decline in Tokyo partly reflected a stronger yen overnight that began to abate in Friday trading. The currency edged lower against the greenback, ending a four-day run of strengthening.
The mixed moves underscored a lack of direction ahead of US nonfarm payroll figures due later Friday, which will refocus traders away from the drama over tariffs that rattled financial markets earlier in the week.
A weak print could boost expectations for further Federal Reserve cuts, while a stronger-than-expected number may have the opposite effect.
