- Lewandowski treble powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- Russian activist killed on front line in Ukraine
- Openda strike briefly sends Leipzig top of Bundesliga
- Goal-shy Man Utd have to 'step up', says Ten Hag
- India bowl out Bangladesh for 127 in T20 opener
- Madueke rescues Chelsea in draw with 10-man Forest
- Beckett's belief rewarded as Bluestocking storms to Arc glory
- Trump on the stump, Harris hits airwaves in razor-edge US election
- Flash flooding kills three in northern Thailand
- Kaur leads India to victory over Pakistan in Women's T20 World Cup
- Juventus held by Cagliari after late penalty drama
- In France's Marseille, teen 'stabbed 50 times' then burned alive
- Ruthless Gauff beats Muchova in straight sets to win China Open
- India restrict Pakistan to 105-8 in Women's T20 World Cup
- England target repeat of Pakistan Test whitewash
- Penrith Panthers win fourth straight NRL title after downing Storm
- Weary Sinner happy for day off after battling into Shanghai last 16
- Pakistan's Masood warns England still a force without Stokes
- Madrid's Carvajal to miss several months after serious knee injury
- Two elephants die in flash flooding in northern Thailand
- Sabalenka targets world number one and Wuhan hat-trick
- Tunisia votes with Saied set for re-election
- Bagnaia sets 'example' with Japan MotoGP win to cut gap on Martin
- Intense Israeli bombing rocks Beirut ahead of war anniversary
- Mozambique vote: no suspense but some disillusion
- Austrian rapper channels anti-racist rage in Romani hip-hop songs
- Ohtani magic powers Dodgers over Padres in MLB playoff thriller
- Five of the best: Pakistan-England Test thrillers
- Man sets arm on fire as marches across US mark Gaza war anniversary
- Vietnam's young coffee entrepreneurs brew up a revolution
- Trump rallies at site of failed assassination: 'Never quit'
- Too hot by day, Dubai's floodlit beaches are packed at night
- Is music finally reckoning with #MeToo?
- Fans hail Trump's 'guts' as he returns to site of rally shooting
- Lebanon state media says Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Miami on track for MLS record points after win in Toronto
- Monaco take top spot in Ligue 1 with win at Rennes
- Madrid beat Villarreal to level Liga leaders Barca
- Thuram treble fires Inter past Torino and up to second
- 'Fight': defiant Trump jets in to site of rally shooting
- Mexico City's new mayor sworn in with pledges on water, housing
- Israel on alert ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Guardians maul Tigers in MLB playoff series opener
- Macron criticises Israel on Gaza, Lebanon operations
- French rugby player whistled but 'serene' on return amid ongoing rape case
- Retegui hat-trick fires five-star Atalanta to hammering of Genoa
- Heavyweights Australia, England off to World Cup winning starts
- Visiting UN refugee agency chief decries 'terrible crisis' in Lebanon
- Spinners come to party as England defeat Bangladesh at T20 World Cup
- Search continues for missing in deadly Bosnia floods
Asian markets track Wall St higher, tech fuels Hong Kong rally
Asian markets climbed Friday following a strong performance on Wall Street, with Hong Kong leading the way as forecast-beating earnings reports by tech titans Alibaba and Baidu sent their shares soaring.
The positive mood put the region on course to end the week on a healthy note, and came after Federal Reserve minutes indicated the US central bank could take a breather in hiking interest rates if inflation shows signs of easing later in the year.
Still, confidence on trading floors remains at a premium owing to a range of crises including soaring prices, tighter monetary policy, China's Covid-19 lockdowns and the war in Ukraine.
Investors were in a buying mood Friday as Hong Kong jumped more than two percent, with market heavyweight Alibaba piling on more than 11 percent and search engine Baidu advancing 15 percent.
The two firms posted better-than-expected sales growth in the January-March quarter, soothing fears about the impact of Covid and inflation on their bottom lines.
Hong Kong's tech index jumped nearly three percent, with other giants also enjoying buying interest with JD.com and Meituan sharply up.
The reports were much-needed pieces of good news out of the world's second-biggest economy, which is being battered by lockdowns in major cities as leaders refuse to budge from their zero-Covid strategy.
Ronald Keung, at Goldman Sachs, sounded an upbeat note.
"We do expect the second quarter to mark the bottom in growth for our companies," he told Bloomberg TV.
"Depending on the Covid policies and the government's policies in helping to drive back consumption confidence, we do expect easier comparables for China tech companies, particularly as you enter into September and December quarter."
Shanghai, Tokyo, Seoul, Sydney, Singapore, Taipei, Manila, Jakarta, Bangkok and Mumbai were also well up.
London was flat at the open, while Paris and Frankfurt rose.
- 'Welcome tonic' -
Asian investors took the lead from Wall Street, where all three main indexes enjoyed a second day of gains after strong earnings from retailers including discount firm Dollar Tree, department store Macy's and the more upscale Williams-Sonoma.
The readings bolstered hopes consumers were more resilient to inflation and rising rates, and came as a Federal Reserve Bank of New York survey showed US shoppers largely expect upward price pressures to be temporary with gains easing in the long term.
"With all the doom and gloom surrounding US retail over the past couple of weeks the numbers were a welcome tonic," said Michael Hewson of CMC Markets.
Earlier in the week, markets rose as minutes from the Fed's May meeting suggested policymakers could temper their campaign of rate hikes later in the year if inflation looks to be plateauing.
"We may see a little bit more stability here because we have repriced the stocks so much already," said iCapital's Anastasia Amoroso.
"I don't know how much this move higher is going to go because I don't think the fundamentals really justify it near term. In the next three to six months it's still going to be a constrained market environment."
- Key figures at around 0720 GMT -
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.7 percent at 26,7781.68 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 2.2 percent at 20,556.05
Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.2 percent at 3,130.24 (close)
London - FTSE 100: FLAT at 7,565.05
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0743 from $1.0732 on Thursday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2624 from $1.2607
Euro/pound: DOWN at 85.09 pence from 85.11 pence
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 126.97 yen from 127.05 yen
Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 0.3 at $117.00 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.3 percent at $113.77 per barrel
New York - Dow: UP 1.6 percent at 32,637.19 (close)
V.F.Barreira--PC