This is C온라인카지노사이트's live blog covering Asia-Pacific markets.

Asia-Pacific markets rose after .

Markets in the region also trailed gains on Wall Street after all three key benchmarks advanced overnight on optimism that a slowdown in the global economy will not impede the progress of developments in artificial intelligence.

Hong Kong markets led gains in the region. The  rose 1.74% to end the day at 22,504.68 while the Hang Seng Tech index gained 3.08% to close at 5,244.06.

India's benchmark  edged up 0.21% in choppy trade while the broader BSE Sensex increased by 0.33% as at 1.35 p.m. Indian Standard Time.

Japan's benchmark  ended the day 1.04% higher at 36,830.69 while the broader Topix index advanced 0.31% to 2,687.78.

Over in South Korea, the  index moved up 0.12% to close at 2,559.79 while the small-cap Kosdaq increased by 0.64% to 721.86.

Australia's  climbed 1.13% to end the day 8,238, its highest level since February 27{

Australian stocks close at over 2-month high ahead of elections

Australian stocks rallied for the seventh consecutive session on Friday.

The 200-stock benchmark climbed 1.13% to end the day at 8,238, its highest level since February 27. The strong moves come just before the country heads to the polls on Saturday.

Gains were led by banking stocks with counters like and surging 2.62% and 1.92% respectively.

Shares of the other two big lenders - and the - rose 1.44% and 1.36% respectively.

Meanwhile, the major miners also notched gains in choppy trade.

ended the day 1.05% higher, while both and were up 0.66%.

— Amala Balakrishner

China markets are closed for the Labor Day public holiday.

U.S.  as investors cheered China's consideration of trade talks with the U.S.

, stocks rose as strong quarterly results from and - two Big Tech "Magnificent Seven" stocks - eased concerns of a slowdown in artificial intelligence-powered developments amid the current macroeconomic uncertainty.

The  climbed 83.60 points, or 0.21%, to close at 40,752.96. The  gained 0.63% to end at 5,604.14, still slightly below its levels from before President Donald Trump's  in early April. The  increased 1.52%, to close at 17,710.74 and wipe out the decline it experienced since April 2.

— C온라인카지노사이트's Hakyung Kim, Sean Conlon and Brian Evans contributed to this report.

Indian stocks post choppy trade

Indian stocks swung between gains and losses on Friday.

The benchmark  was flat as of 1.35 p.m. local time, while the broad-based BSE Sensex gained 0.36%.

The 50-stock benchmark is up 2.73% since the start of the year and is set to see its third weekly gain.

Strong gains were seen in the Gautam Adani-backed Adani Ports, which surged 4.68%, Indian Oil Corporation, which jumped 3.73% and TVS Motor, which climbed 2.22%.

— Amala Balakrishner

Goldman Sachs sets TOPIX target to 2800

Goldman Sachs expects Japan's Topix index to hit 2,800, after factoring in the impact of U.S. tariffs and a slowdown in GDP growth, according to Bruce Kirk, Chief Japan Equity Strategist.

"We're looking for a 12-month target for Topix of 2,800, so some upside from here, but there are just so many known unknowns out there at the moment," Kirk said.

To entice more investment, Japanese companies have also offered shareholder benefits, such as discounts to Tokyo Disneyland or even baseball games, a practice known locally as Kabunushi Yuutai.

Kabunushi Yuutai is offered by about a third of listed Japanese companies to retail investors domiciled in the country, Kirk added. For retail investors not based in Japan, companies that offer Kabunushi Yuutai tend to have better performance compared to those that don't, he said.

"Companies with Kabunushi Yuutai programs, specifically amongst the small, mid-caps, trade better than those companies that don't, and they trade with lower volatility, and they have higher valuation."

- Diane Jorolan, Neha Hegde

Standard Chartered's HK-listed shares climb 4% on strong first-quarter profit

The Hong Kong-listed shares of Standard Chartered climbed as much as 4% on Friday after its first-quarter profit surpassed expectations on the back of strong growth in its wealth management, global markets and global banking businesses.

The bank's profit before taxation for the January-March quarter came in at $2.103 billion, up from $1.91 billion in the .

.

— Amala Balakrishner, Lee Ying Shan

Australian stocks close at over 2-month high ahead of elections

Australian stocks rallied for the seventh consecutive session on Friday.

The 200-stock benchmark climbed 1.13% to end the day at 8,238, its highest level since February 27. The strong moves come just before the country heads to the polls on Saturday.

Gains were led by banking stocks with counters like and surging 2.62% and 1.92% respectively.

Shares of the other two big lenders - and the - rose 1.44% and 1.36% respectively.

Meanwhile, the major miners also notched gains in choppy trade.

ended the day 1.05% higher, while both and were up 0.66%.

— Amala Balakrishner

Asian currencies strengthen as China considers trade talks with the U.S.

Asian currencies strengthened Friday as investors awaited clarity on U.S.-China trade tensions after the Asian giant announced it is mulling trade talks with the world's largest economy.

The offshore Chinese yuan appreciated 0.25% to 7.2686 against the dollar as at 12.11 p.m. Singapore time. This is its strongest level since April 4.

Taiwan's dollar strengthen 2.5% to 31.305 against the dollar, its highest level since October 1, 2024.

Elsewhere in the region, the Indian rupee strengthened sharply in early trade.

The Korean won appreciated 0.97% against the dollar to 1,421.22 while the Australian dollar gained 0.42% to 0.6410 against the dollar.

The Japanese yen, traditionally perceived as a haven during periods of market tumult, strengthened marginally by 0.1% against the dollar to $145.31.

Southeast Asian currencies also gained against the greenback.

The Thai baht strengthened 0.84% to 33.25 while the Indonesian rupiah increased 0.63% to 16,490 against the dollar after briefly hitting its highest level since March 18 earlier in the session.

Meanwhile, the Philippine peso gained 0.39% by 55.655 while the Singapore dollar appreciated 0.36% to 1.3061 against the dollar.

— Amala Balakrishner

Indian rupee appreciates sharply against the U.S. dollar

The Indian rupee rose sharply on Friday, on the back of an increase in equity inflows from foreign banks, a struggling U.S. dollar and tense India-Pakistan relations.

As at 9.33 a.m. local time, the rupee had appreciated by 0.77% against the U.S. dollar to 83.9275.

This is the first time since October 2024 that the currency has climbed past 84 against the U.S. dollar.

— Amala Balakrishner

Copper rises on China's consideration of trade talks with the U.S.

Copper rose sharply on Friday after China said it was evaluating the possibility of trade talks with the U.S.

The metal gained for a second day, and was trading 0.89 higher at $9,206 a ton on the London Metal Exchange as at 11.11 a.m. Singapore time.

Meanwhile, iron ore futures in Singapore added 0.42% to $96.60.

China's consideration of talks with the U.S. is good news for base metals as they have taken a hit from U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs on China.

Experts had that the Asian giant's copper stockpiles would take a hit if its trade relations with the U.S. remain tense.

— Amala Balakrishner

Taiwan shares surge over 2%

Taiwan's benchmark Taiex index surged 2.07% as of 11.04 a.m. local time, extending its gains for the fifth consecutive session.

Gains were led by the utilities, industrials and technology sectors, data from LSEG shows.

The top three performers were RiTdisplay Corp which advanced 10%, Ying Han Technology which added 9.95% and U-Ming Marine Transport which increased by 9.94%.

Meanwhile, shares of tech giants and - known globally as Foxconn - were last seen trading 3.19% and 3.53% higher, respectively,

The  shows the index's moves:

— Amala Balakrishner

Hong Kong stocks surge as China mulls possibility of trade talks with the U.S.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Tech Index surged Friday, following China's announcement that it is considering the possibility of trade talks with the U.S.

The tech-heavy index surged 3.01% as at 10.42 a.m. local time.

The top three performers in the index were , which soared 5.49%, , which added 5.05% and , which increased 5.04%

The  shows the day's moves:

Meanwhile, the was last seen up 1.52%, extending its gains from its previous two sessions.

— Amala Balakrishner

Bitcoin moves closer to $100,000

rose sharply early Friday, reversing its losses from earlier in the week. The cryptocurrency is now fast approaching $100,000 — a threshold it last traded at on February 7.

As at 8.35 a.m. Singapore time, Bitcoin had advanced 0.34% to $96,805.58.

— Amala Balakrishner

Japan March jobless rate at 2.5% as tariff uncertainty weighs on growth outlook

Japan's unemployment rate in March edged higher to 2.5%, the showed Friday, as the country faces heightened uncertainty surrounding U.S. tariffs and .

The jobless rate was higher than the February level and Reuters-polled analysts' forecast of 2.4%, according to LSEG data.

The jobs-to-applicants ratio widened to 1.26 in March from 1.24 in February, separate labour ministry data showed, compared with the forecast of 1.25 in a Reuters poll.

The Bank of Japan in a decision Thursday and sharply cut its growth forecasts citing tariff headwinds.

— Anniek Bao

South Korea's inflation steadies in April, but surpasses forecast

South Korea's inflation rate , the same pace as the month before.

This follows higher prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages, clothing and shoes and education, data released by Statistics Korea on Friday showed.

The reading is slightly above the 2% increase expected by economists polled by Reuters and now offers the Bank of Korea room to consider resuming its rate-cut cycle in its policy meeting later in the month.

On a seasonally adjusted month on month basis, South Korea's inflation edged up 0.1% in April.

This is its lowest reading since November 2024 and is marginally below the 0.2% rise in the previous month.

— Amala Balakrishner