In Asian Equity Markets indices traded in largely positive territory in the morning on the final trading day of the week, following record highs on Wall Street. Japan’s Nikkei 225 advanced by 0.5 percent, with the insurance sector rising by 1.93 percent. South Korea’s Kospi traded higher by 0.16 percent despite losing some of its earlier gains, as memory chipmaker SK Hynix saw its stock falling by 3.29 percent. Down Under, the ASX 200 rose by 0.5 percent, as the financial sector saw gains of 0.53 percent with most major banks trading in positive territory.

In Currency Markets the US dollar struggled near 2-1/2 month lows, while the yen also sagged on Friday on reduced safe haven demand amid a switch in investors’ view that the Sino-U.S. trade conflict would not lead to an immediate global shock. The Australian dollar, a proxy of China-related trades as well as gauge of risk sentiment, climbed to a three-week high of $0.7297. The Aussie has jumped nearly 2 percent this week, having pulled back from a 2-1/2-year low of $0.7085. The dollar was up 0.25 percent at 112.745 yen, its strongest in two months.

In Commodities Markets oil prices fell on Friday after falling in the previous session as U.S. President Donald Trump urged OPEC to lower crude prices ahead of its meeting in Algeria this weekend.  International benchmark Brent crude for November delivery was down 3 cents at $78.67 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery fell 16 cents to $70.16 a barrel. OPEC and its allies are scheduled to meet on Sunday in Algeria to discuss how to allocate supply increases to offset a shortage of Iran supplies due to U.S. sanctions.

In US Equity Markets the Dow was the last among Wall Street’s main indexes to regain record territory on Thursday as technology companies led a broad-based rally and trade worries faded. Tech stocks lead all three major U.S. indexes higher, with the S&P 500 also hitting a new high. Microsoft Corp and Apple Inc were up 1.5 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively. The companies headed up the tech sector’s 1.1 percent gain. The S&P 500 gained 0.80 percent, to 2,931.27 and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.99 percent, to 8,028.40.

In Bond Markets the 30-year Japanese government bond yield rose to an 11-month high on Friday after the Bank of Japan trimmed its purchase of super-long debt at a regular buying operation. The central bank on Friday offered to buy 50 billion yen ($444 million) of 25- to 40-year JGBs, down from 60 billion at its previous operation on Tuesday. The 30-year yield was 2.5 basis points higher at 0.875 percent, the highest since October 2017. The 40-year yield also rose 2.5 basis points, to 1.015 percent, the highest since January.