SINGAPORE — Japan’s stocks gave up some gains and the yen rose on reports that former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was gravely injured in a shooting.
The Nikkei 225 was up 0.49% and the Topix index 0.68% higher. Both indexes rose more than 1% earlier in the session.
The yen last traded at 135.68 per dollar. Earlier in the day, it was at 135.9 per dollar.
Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno confirmed that Abe was shot at around 11:30am Japan time and said his condition was unknown, Reuters reported.
Abe is still a heavyweight in Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, the news agency said. He was giving a speech in the city of Nara, campaigning on behalf of other LDP members ahead of Japan’s upper house elections on Sunday.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.9%.
South Korea’s Kospi added 1.24%, while the Kosdaq was 1.69% higher.
The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong jumped 1.31% in early trade, with the Hang Seng Tech index rising nearly 2%.
Mainland China markets were higher. The Shanghai Composite increased 0.65%, while the Shenzhen Component advanced 0.737%.
But fears of rising prices and an economic slowdown remain.
“The risk out there, of course, would be the heightened inflation and on top of that, there is also the risk of impending recession,” DBS Chief Investment Officer Hou Wey Fook told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia” on Friday.
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. Shares of the company rose 2.15% in Asia.
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 106.825, falling from above 107 earlier this week.
The Australian dollar was at $0.6853, trying to rise after falling following the Reserve Bank of Australia’s decision to raise rates on Tuesday.
The Aussie drifted higher after news the foreign ministers of Australia and China are set to meet for the first time in nearly three years, according to Carol Kong, a senior associate, international economics and currency strategy, at Commonwealth Bank.
“Nevertheless, AUD will likely struggle to sustain these gains while China remains committed to its zero Covid policy and the global economy is losing momentum,” she wrote in a Friday note.
Oil futures were slightly lower in Asia’s morning trade. U.S. crude was down 0.42% at $102.30 per barrel, while Brent crude slipped 0.37% to $104.26 per barrel.
