Investing.com — On Friday, most Asian stocks were buoyed by tech stocks as Apple Inc.'s strong earnings supported sentiment, although a holiday in regional markets and expectations for major U.S. indexes held back gains. Rose.
Regional trading volumes slowed slightly due to public holidays in Japan and China.
Asian markets rose on Thursday on Wall Street's gains as tech stocks rebounded from this week's sharp declines. U.S. stock index futures also rose in Asian trading.
But overall gains were limited, with Wall Street still heading for a weekly loss as concerns about longer-term U.S. interest rates largely erased any optimism. All eyes were on nonfarm payrolls data to be released later in the day for further clues on interest rates.
Asian tech companies follow US profits, Apple's profits beat fears
Tech-heavy Asian stock exchanges performed well on the day, with the Hong Kong index rising 1.4%. The index was Asia's best performer this week as additional stimulus in China, particularly in the real estate sector, gave a big boost to real estate stocks.
South Korea rose 0.1% and Australia rose 0.6% due to gains in high-tech industries.
Apple Inc.'s (NASDAQ:) after-hours rally also spilled over into the company's Asian suppliers, especially after the iPhone maker posted better-than-expected earnings and predicted some revenue growth this quarter.
Apple suppliers in Taiwan – primarily TSMC (TW:) (NYSE:) and Hon Hai Precision Industries (Foxconn (TW:)) – rose 1.5% and 2.3%, respectively.
Hong Kong's AAC Technologies (OTC:) Holdings (HK:) rose more than 3%. On the other hand, in Korea, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (KS:), SK Hynix Co., Ltd. (KS:) And LG Innotek Co., Ltd. (KS:) rose between 0.5% and 5.2%.
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Broad Asian markets were largely subdued, with trading volumes remaining limited amid regional holidays and caution over US interest rates.
Indian index futures signaled subdued trading after the index briefly hit an all-time high earlier this week. However, the Nifty otherwise recorded calm movements during the day amid concerns over India's 2024 general elections.
Nonfarm payrolls await further interest rate indicators
Markets were largely cautious ahead of important data to be released later on Friday.
Nonfarm payrolls have consistently exceeded market expectations over the past five months as the U.S. labor market remains strong.
A strong labor market gives the Fed more room to keep interest rates high for an extended period of time. The central bank issued a similar warning at its meeting earlier this week, but also said future interest rate hikes were unlikely despite recent persistence in inflation.
