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• European stocks opened higher on Friday morning, supported by upbeat earnings from U.S. tech giants and the prospect of continuing stimulus in Europe.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 opened up around 0.33 percent shortly after the opening bell, with almost all sectors and major bourses in positive territory.
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• Asian shares gained on Friday as technology stocks were boosted by upbeat earnings from U.S. high-tech giants while the euro hovered near a three-month low against the dollar after the European Central Bank extended its stimulus.
Japan's Nikkei .N225 gained 1.3 percent. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was flat .MIAPJ0000PUS, while Hong Kong .HSI and South Korean .KS11 shares gained 0.7 percent in local currency.
• Japan’s Nikkei share average surged more than 1 percent to a fresh 21-year high on Friday, led by banking shares as U.S. yields remained high and by tech shares after their U.S. counterparts posted strong earnings.
The Nikkei rose 1.2 percent to 22,008.54 points, its strongest closing level since mid-1996. For the week, the index has risen 2.6 percent, posting seventh straight weeks of gains, the longest weekly winning streak in almost a year.
• China’s blue-chip stocks rose for a fifth straight day on Friday to a 28-month high, as corporate earnings beat expectations and the conclusion of the key Communist Party Congress this week put investor focus on President Xi Jinping’s economic agenda.
The blue-chip CSI300 index rose 0.7 percent, to 4,021.97 points, while the Shanghai Composite Index added 0.3 percent to 3,416.81 points.
• Hong Kong stocks ended the week on a firmer footing, after an encouraging slew of earnings from U.S. tech giants buoyed Wall Street and the European Central Bank extended its stimulus.
The Hang Seng index rose 0.8 percent, to 28,438.85, while the China Enterprises Index gained 1.7 percent, to 11,643.57 points.
Reference: Reuters, CNBC
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