SINGAPORE — Asia-Pacific markets opened higher on Friday as investors look ahead to the release of U.S. jobs data for June.
The Nikkei 225 rose 0.54%, while the Topix index gained 0.34%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.51%.
South Korea’s Kospi added 0.91%, while the Kosdaq was 1.03% higher.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is set to report its nonfarm payrolls data Friday stateside. Economists expect a gain of 250,000 jobs for June, according to a Dow Jones survey. That would be less than the 390,000 jobs added in May.
In company news, SoftBank on Thursday said Rajeev Misra will step down as CEO of SoftBank Global Advisors, but remain in two other positions.
Overnight in the U.S., major indexes rose.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 346.87 points, or about 1.12%, to close at 31,384.55. The S&P 500 gained 1.5% to 3,902.62, while the Nasdaq Composite added 2.28% to 11,621.35.
European markets rose on Thursday as U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson resigned.
Currencies and oil
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was last at 107.020 after strengthening earlier this week.
Japan’s yen traded at 135.90 per dollar, the Australian dollar was at $0.6845, trying to rise after falling following the Reserve Bank of Australia’s decision to raise rates on Tuesday.
Oil futures were slightly lower in Asia’s morning trade. U.S. crude was down 0.18% at $102.55 per barrel, while Brent crude slipped 0.23% to $104.41 per barrel.