Asian markets settled mostly higher on Friday following the mixed closing from Wall Street overnight, as US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reiterated his view on a lower path for 10-year yields under the Trump administration. Meanwhile, investors were awaiting the release of the monthly US jobs report as well as preliminary readings on consumer sentiment and inflation expectations in February later in the day for cues on the US Federal Reserve's interest rate decision. Chinese and Hong Kong shares gained sharply as DeepSeek AI optimism lifted technology shares. However, Japanese shares declined as the yen hit a nine-week high against the U.S. dollar after Bank of Japan board member Tamura advocated for raising interest rates to at least 1% by the end of 2025 fiscal year.
| Asian Indices | Last Trade | Change in Points | Change in % |
| Shanghai Composite | 3,303.67 | 33.01 | 1.00 |
| Hang Seng | 21,133.54 | 241.92 | 1.14 |
| Jakarta Composite | 6,742.58 | -132.96 | -1.97 |
| KLSE Composite | 1,590.91 | 5.74 | 0.36 |
| Nikkei 225 | 38,787.02 | -279.51 | -0.72 |
| Straits Times | 3,861.42 | 31.00 | 0.80 |
| KOSPI Composite | 2,521.92 | -14.83 | -0.59 |
| Taiwan Weighted | 23,478.27 | 161.67 | 0.69 |
