Nikkei
Tokyo shares closed higher on Friday, extending Wall Street rallies on hopes that the Federal Reserve could slow rate hikes, with investors also eyeing US jobs data.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index gained 1.21 percent, or 376.21 points, to end at 31,524.22, while the broader Topix index climbed 1.55 percent, or 33.41 points, to 2,182.70.
Hang Seng
Hong Kong stocks soared Friday on growing optimism the Federal Reserve will not hike interest rates at its next meeting this month, while traders also welcomed the passage of a bill to avert a US default.
The Hang Seng Index surged 4.02 percent, or 733.03 points, to 18,949.94.
The Shanghai Composite Index climbed 0.79 percent, or 25.43 points, to 3,230.07, while the Shenzhen Composite Index on China's second exchange jumped 1.16 percent, or 23.39 points, to 2,035.62.
Gold
Gold futures declined on Friday, pressured by a stronger than expected U.S. jobs report, but prices for the metal held onto a modest gain for the week to post their first weekly rise in about a month.
Gold was "almost in the clear" as a couple of Federal Reserve doves had markets convinced that policymakers would skip a June rate hike, said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA.
If the jobs data had cooperated, "some traders were making the case that they might even be done," he said.
However, the U.S. economy is "too resilient and that should keep the risk of more Fed tightening on the table."
Gold for August delivery fell $25.90, or 1.3%, to settle at $1,969.60 an ounce on Comex. Prices based on the most-active contract edged up by 1.3% for the week, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
Oil
Oil futures settled higher on Friday, but U.S. and global crude benchmarks still posted losses for the week.
Oil prices initially fell this week before the passage of the U.S. debt ceiling bill, and a strong U.S. May employment report saw prices recoup some of those losses later in the week, the commodities team at Capital Economics wrote in note Friday. Attention has turned toward the OPEC+ meeting in Vienna this weekend, and the most likely outcome is for production policy to be left unchanged, they said.
July West Texas Intermediate crude rose $1.64, or 2.3%, to settle at $71.74 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices based on the front-month contract lost 1.3% for the week, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
