Asia markets opened higher on Friday, after strong quarterly results from some of the biggest U.S. companies helped gains on Wall Street.
In Australia, the ASX 200 rose 0.6 percent in early trade, with most sectors gaining. The heavily weighted financial sector was up 0.24 percent while energy and materials added 0.78 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.27 percent and the Topix index added 0.12 percent.
The Bank of Japan is set to issue its latest monetary policy outlook report later in the day. The central bank is expected to stay on hold.
Two new deputy governors are expected to make their debut, according to Reuters — Masayoshi Amamiya , a career central banker, and former academic Masazumi Wakatabe, a vocal advocate of aggressive easing.
“Potentially, Mr. Wakatabe could even surprise the market at his first meeting by suggesting additional stimulus measures, because the Bank is likely to slightly downgrade its inflation outlook on the back of a softer inflation pressure,” Kohei Iwahara, a Japan-based economist at investment bank Natixis, wrote in a note earlier this week.
In South Korea, the Kospi rose 1.11 percent.
Investors will be watching for developments when North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meets South Korean President Moon Jae-in during the Inter-Korean Summit to discuss peace and denuclearization.
Elsewhere, the dollar stayed above the 91.00 level against a basket of major currencies. The dollar index traded at 91.584 as of 8:37 a.m. HK/SIN.
The Japanese yen traded at 109.28 to the greenback and the Australian dollar last traded at $0.7549.
The euro traded at $1.2103 on Friday morning Asia time. Overnight, the European Central Bank held interest rates steady amid signs the euro area’s growth outlook may have softened.
Oil prices rose overnight amid concerns over geopolitical developments, particularly concerns about Iran.
A top advisor to Iran’s supreme leader said Tehran would not accept any change to the 2015 nuclear deal, Reuters reported. The news wire said Western signatories to the agreement were preparing a new package to persuade U.S. President Donald Trump to stick with the accord.
Trump will decide by May 12 whether to restore sanctions on Iran that could result in a reduction of Iranian oil exports, according to Reuters.
French President Emmanuel Macron said he expects the U.S. to withdraw from the Iran deal in the coming weeks. He described the reversal of American policy on international agreements, including Trump’s decision to pull out of the Paris climate accord, as “insane.”
U.S. crude was up 14 cents at $68.19 per barrel while global benchmark Brent added 74 cents to $74.74.
— CNBC’s Tom DiChristopher contributed to this report.
