Asia-Pacific markets rose Friday, tracking Wall Street gains overnight as President Donald Trump signed a reciprocal tariffs plans, but did not enact the levies on them immediately.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 started the day 0.76% higher, after hitting a intra-day record in the previous session.
Over in Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225 started the day down 0.15%, while the broader Topix index was up 0.31%.
South Korea's Kospi opened 0.14% higher while the small-cap Kosdaq advanced 0.74%.
The country's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate hit 2.9% in January, easing from its three-year high of 3.7% in the month before.
Futures for Hong Kong's Hang Seng index stood at 21,941 pointing to a stronger open compared to the HSI's close of 21,814.37.
Meanwhile, India's wholesale price inflation, capturing price changes by wholesalers, is expected to rise 2.5% in January, more than 2.3% growth in the previous month.
Singapore's GDP rose 5% year on year in the fourth-quarter of 2024, surpassing the 4.7% growth expected by Reuters.
Overnight in the U.S., stocks rose following fresh inflation data and updates on U.S. tariff plans.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 342.87 points, or 0.77%, to 44,711.43. The S&P 500 climbed 1.04% to 6,115.07, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.50% to 19,945.64.
The Dow had hit session highs after U.S. President Donald Trump signed a presidential memorandum to examine reciprocal tariffs on foreign nations. As part of this, he noted that the U.S. will treat other countries' non-tariff policies as unfair trade practices that warrant tariffs in response.
South Korea's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate hit 2.9% in January, easing from its three-year high of 3.7% from the month before.
The country's unemployed population increased by 11,000 people, or 1% year on year, to 1,083,000 in the first month of 2025, according to government data released Friday.
Overall, South Korea's economically active population grew 0.5% year on year to some 28,961,000 million people in January.

Source: CNBC