Asian markets ended higher on Friday after reports that US President Donald Trump has asked officials in his administration to start drafting a potential trade deal with Beijing. Investors also looked ahead to the US Labor Department's closely-watched employment report for October due later in the day, with traders expecting employment to climb by 190,000 jobs in the month after an increase of 134,000 jobs in September. The jobless rate is expected to hold at 3.7 percent. It will be the final jobs report before next Tuesday's congressional elections. Chinese shares ended higher on easing trade tensions and after President Xi Jinping promised more support for private firms. Further, Japanese shares logged their biggest single-day gain since March as easing of trade tensions helped lift shares of companies that have large exposure to China.
Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
Shanghai Composite | 2,676.48 | 70.24 | 2.62 |
Hang Seng | 26,486.35 | 1,070.35 | 4.04 |
Jakarta Composite | 5,906.29 | 70.37 | 1.19 |
KLSE Composite | 1,713.87 | 6.95 | 0.41 |
Nikkei 225 | 22,243.66 | 556.01 | 2.50 |
Straits Times | 3,118.45 | 57.60 | 1.85 |
KOSPI Composite | 2,096.00 | 71.54 | 3.41 |
Taiwan Weighted | 9,906.59 | 61.85 | 0.62 |
