Stocks in Asia Pacific were higher on Friday as investors awaited the U.S. non-farm payrolls report expected later in the day stateside.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 gained 167.99 points, or 0.7%, to 22,863.73.
The Japanese yen traded at 109.31 per U.S. dollar after weakening from levels below 108 earlier in the trading week.
The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong vaulted 404.11 points, or 1.7%, to 24,770.41, with shares of HSBC jumping about 3.2%.
Korean markets gained ground as well, as shares of LG Chem surged 4%.
Airline stocks regionally surged. In Japan, shares of Japan Airlines skyrocketed 9.74% while ANA Holdings jumped 7.06%. Similar gains were seen in South Korea, where Korean Air Lines soared 7.57% while Asiana Airlines gained 4.87%.
In Hong Kong, China Southern Airlines jumped 10.43% in afternoon trade. Shares of Singapore Airlines in Singapore, however, dipped 0.68%.
The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.6989 after seeing an earlier high of $0.7004.
In other markets
In Shanghai, the CSI 300 added 19.06 points, or 0.5%, to 4,001.25.
In Korea, the Kospi climbed 30.69 points, or 1.4%, to 2,181.87
In Taiwan, the Taiex index jumped 86.17 points, or 0.8%, to 11,479.40
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index strengthened 44.3 points, or 1.6%, to 2,751.50.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 erased 51.14 points, or 0.5%, to 11,171.66
In Australia, the ASX 200 inched ahead 6.89 points, or 0.1%, to 5,998.72.
