Shares were higher in Europe and most of Asia on Friday as investors awaited the release later in the day of U.S. employment data. A weaker yen lifted Tokyo's benchmark and South Korea's Kospi rose after the constitutional Court decided to remove the country's president for the first time in history.
KEEPING SCORE: Germany's DAX gained 0.4 per cent to 12,020.04 and the CAC 40 of France added 0.3 per cent to 4,995.51. The FTSE 100 in Britain climbed 0.4 per cent to 7,345.07. Wall Street seemed headed for an upbeat start with both S&P 500 and Dow futures up 0.3 per cent.
U.S. JOBS: The U.S. government is due to issue the February jobs report later Friday. Analysts have forecast that American employers added up to 200,000 jobs and the unemployment rate slipped to 4.7 per cent from 4.8 per cent the month before. The Federal Reserve will likely opt for faster rate hikes if it sees another month of strong labour data figures, said Jingyi Pan, a market strategist at IG in Singapore.
ANALYST'S VIEWPOINT: The U.S. non-farm payroll numbers are "the last piece of the puzzle which will determine the Fed's rate hike decision next week," said Margaret Yang Yan, a market analyst at CMC Markets in Singapore.
IMPEACHED KOREAN LEADER: The announcement of the constitutional Court's unanimous decision to uphold the parliament's impeachment of President Park Geun-hye was broadcast live across Asia. The verdict clears the way for a presidential election in two months. Shares rose overall but EG Corp., a company owned by Park's younger brother, fell as much as 20 per cent, while other shares thought to be related to opposition party presidential contenders jumped.
ASIA'S DAY: Tokyo's Nikkei 225 jumped 1.5 per cent to 19,604.61 as the dollar surged against the yen, favouring manufacturers. South Korea's Kospi added 0.3 per cent to 2,097.35. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index added 0.3 per cent to 23,568.67 and the Shanghai Composite Index edged 0.1 per cent lower to 3,212.76. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.6 per cent to 5,775.60. Stocks in Taiwan fell and Southeast Asian benchmarks were mixed.
OIL: Benchmark U.S. oil added 20 cents to $49.48 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell $1, or 2 per cent, to close at $49.28 on Thursday. Brent crude, the international standard, gained 32 cents to $52.51.
CURRENCIES: The dollar rose to 115.41 yen from 114.96 yen. The euro rose to $1.0618 from $1.0577.
This content appears as provided to The Globe by the originating wire service. It has not been edited by Globe staff.