- Asian markets rose, led by Japan and South Korea, while Australia declined slightly
- S&P 500 reached a new intraday high amid easing inflation concerns and falling oil prices
- Japan's Nikkei 225 climbed 1.73% and South Korea's Kospi gained 2.11% on strong tech stocks
Asian markets traded largely higher on Friday, tracking gains on Wall Street, with Japan and South Korea leading the regional rally, while Australian equities bucked the trend.
The S&P 500 hit a fresh all-time intraday high on Thursday, as a decline in oil prices helped ease some inflation concerns and investors assessed the latest inflation data. At the same time, markets continued to monitor simmering tensions between the US and Iran.
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In Asian trade, Japan's Nikkei 225 jumped 1.73%, while the broader Topix rose 0.92%. South Korea's Kospi advanced 2.11%, while the small-cap Kosdaq gained 0.84%.
Australia remained an outlier, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 falling 0.81%.
The gains in Japan and South Korea come after a strong performance in the previous session. Japan's Nikkei 225, Taiwan's benchmark and South Korea's Kospi rose 1.16%, 1.11% and 3.56%, respectively, while New Zealand's NZX 50 gained 0.64%. Singapore's STI was nearly flat, easing 0.01%.
Strength in technology and artificial intelligence-related stocks remained a key driver of the rally across Japan, Taiwan and South Korea, keeping sentiment firm across much of the region.
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