Asian stocks rose on Friday, as banks and electronics makers led the regional benchmark index to the first weekly gain in a month, after Bank of America said it was profitable and Japan signalled further stimulus steps. Futures on the S&P 500 lost 0.4%, as Fitch cut its credit rating on Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway. The gauge jumped 4.1% on Thursday.
Asian markets (Fri)
04:36am GMT
Nikkei up 352.91 (4.9%) at 7,551.16
Topix up 22.91 (3.27%) at 723.84
Hang Seng 430.44 (3.59%) at 12,431.97
US markets (Thurs)
DJIA up 239.66 (3.46%) at 7,170.06
Nasdaq up 54.46 (3.97%) at 1,426.10
S&P500 up 29.38 (4.07%) at 750.74
European markets (Thurs)
FTSE100 up 18.25 (0.49%) at 3,712.06
Eurofirst 300 up 4.24 (0.61%) at 696.89
Currencies
04:37 GMT
€/$ 1.2908 (1.2833)
$/¥ 97.59 (96.15)
£/$ 1.3905 (1.3870)
Commodities (updated)
04:38 GMT
Brent Crude (Apr09) down $0.28 at $44.81
Light Crude (Apr09) down $0.29 at $46.74
100 Oz Gold (Apr09) up $1.30 at $925.30
Copper (3M 24hr) down 15.00 at $3,635.00
10-year government bond yields (%)
US 2.89 (2.89)
UK 2.94 (3.08)
Germany 3.03 (3.06)
Japan 1.32 (1.31)
Sources: FT, Reuters