- Asian equities rose on Friday, powered by advances in Hong Kong-listed technology companies, as traders expect the Federal Reserve to suspend interest rate hikes in June.
- Stock rose in Japan, Australia, and mainland China, while US futures rose after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 rallied on Thursday. A strong spike in tech titans spurred Wall Street's advances ahead of jobs data that is expected to show a slowdown.
- The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong climbed more than 2.5% in the first few minutes of trading, pulling the benchmark back from the verge of a bear market after concerns over Chinese growth eased somewhat Thursday after stronger-than-expected manufacturing statistics.
- In Asia, South Korea's Kospi index was on the verge of a bull market after a 20% recovery from a recent low in September, and India's Sensex was approaching an all-time high. Philippines equities have retreated from the verge of a 10% drop.
- Traders are expecting that the monthly US jobs report due later on Friday will show enough slowing in hiring to allow the Fed to suspend its tightening policy, as suggested by many Fed members this week.
