Asian stocks rose on Friday, led by materials producers and technology companies, on higher commodity prices and better-than-expected US economic data. Futures on the S&P500 Index were little changed after the gauge rose 0.3% on Thursday as crude oil futures increased for the first time in three days, up 1.5%. Data showed that the US economy shrank at a 1% annual rate in the second quarter, far less than the 1.5% contraction estimated by economists.
Asian markets (Fri)
03:00 BST
Nikkei up 82.18 (0.78%) at 10,556.15
Topix up 5.49 (0.57%) at 969.72
Hang Seng down 213.57 (-1.04%) at 20,242.75
US markets (Thurs)
S&P500 up 2.86 (0.28%) at 1,030.98
DJIA up 37.11 (0.39%) at 9,580.63
Nasdaq up 3.20 (0.16%) at 2,027.73
European markets (Thurs)
Eurofirst 300 down 5.25 (-0.54) at 968.67
FTSE100 down 21.23 (-0.43%) at 4,869.35
Currencies
03:02 BST
€/$ 1.4366 (1.4242)
$/¥ 93.76 (93.82)
£/$ 1.6291 (1.6224)
Commodities (continuous)
02:55 BST
Brent Crude (ICE) up $0.14 at $72.65
Light Crude (Nymex) up $0.38 at $72.87
100 Oz Gold (Comex) up $3.90 at $951.20
Copper (Comex) up $6.60 at $291.45
10-year government bond yields (%)
02:57 BST
US 3.47 (3.43)
UK 3.56 (3.54)
Germany 3.26 (3.23)
Japan 1.32 (1.31)
Sources: FT, Reuters, Bloomberg