Asian markets opened mixed with the strength in the yen dragging Japanese equities lower. The U.S. dollar stabilised after posting its biggest fall since July, while gold hovered near a four-week high.
Jobless Claims Fall
Filings for unemployment benefits in the U.S. declined to its lowest level in eight weeks. Jobless claims dropped by 28,000 to 235,000 for the week ending December 31, according to data from the U.S. Department of Labor.
The median projection of economists surveyed by Bloomberg stood at 260,000. Filings have remained below 300,000 for 96 consecutive weeks, the longest streak since 1970.
U.S. markets ended mixed on Thursday as uncertainty over the policies of President-elect Donald Trump gave investors a reason to consolidate. Financial stocks led the fall on the S&P 500 Index.
The NASDAQ Composite Index outperformed its peers, gaining 0.2 percent, to post a fresh record closing high. The jobs report for the month of December is scheduled to be released later on Friday.
The dollar snapped a two-day losing streak in Asia trading even as China's intervention sent offshore yuan surging 1.1 percent on Thursday after Wednesday's 1.3 percent advance.
U.S. Crude Stockpiles Fall
Oil continued to hover around the $54 per barrel mark after data from the Energy Information Administration showed that U.S. crude stockpiles fell by 7.05 million barrels last week. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey estimated a drop of 2 million barrels.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will comply fully with output curbs agreed on in OPEC's November meeting, people with knowledge of the situation told Bloomberg. Suppliers like Kuwait, Iraq, and Oman have already began to cut output.
Gold fell 0.2 percent after a three-day surge but remained near a four-week high near the $1,178 an ounce mark.
Tepid Start?
The SGX Nifty Index rose 0.34 percent to 8,318 as of 7:05 a.m., indicating a strong start for Indian equities. Benchmark indices climbed to a two-month high on Thursday after minutes of the Federal Reserve's December 13-14 meeting indicated that the U.S. central bank's stance was not as hawkish as earlier anticipated.
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