• Asian stocks edged up and the dollar rose to 1-1/2-month highs versus the yen on Friday, ahead of the closely-watched U.S. non-farm payrolls report due later in the day.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.3 percent, taking cues from a modest bounce in Wall Street overnight.
• Japan's Nikkei share average closed at its highest since December 2015 on Friday as exporters benefitted from the dollar hitting a six-week high against the yen, while investors waited for a U.S. jobs report that could pave the way for a rate hike as early as next week.
The Nikkei added 1.5 percent to 19,604.61, the highest closing level since Dec. 7, 2015. For the week, the benchmark index climbed 0.7 percent.
• China stocks ended flat on Friday, as initial excitement toward the country's annual parliamentary meeting petered out and investors turned cautious ahead of a likely U.S. rate hike next week.
The blue-chip CSI300 index was unchanged at 3,427.89, while the Shanghai Composite Index was down just 0.1 percent at 3,212.76 points.
• Hong Kong's Hang Seng index reversed earlier losses on Friday, after market sentiment was hit by a slide in oil prices, with traders turning their attention to a near certain U.S. rate hike next week.The Hang Seng index gained 0.3 percent to 23,568.67, while the Hong Kong China Enterprises Index shed 0.3 percent to 10,069.10 points, dragged by Chinese energy giants.
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