Manama: Asian stocks advanced on Friday after US markets hit record highs ahead of the release of American labour market data. In China, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 0.5% to 25,194.85 points, while the Shanghai Composite gained 0.4% to 3,778.95. South Korea's Kospi rose 0.1% to 3,202.13, and Australia's S and P/ASX 200 rose 0.3% to 8,855.20.
According to Bahrain News Agency, India's BSE Sensex rose 0.2%, and Taiwan's Taiex rose by more than 1%. On Wall Street Thursday, the S and P 500 gained 0.8%, surpassing its previous record from last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 350 points, or 0.8%, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 1%.