Investing.com - Asian shares gained on Friday in light tarde ahead of U.S. non-farm payrolls.
The Nikkei 225 rose 0.30%, while the S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.91%. Japan reported average cash earnings gained 0.9%, compared with a 0.5% gain expected. Markets are shut in South Korea and China.
Overnight, the rally in U.S. stocks continued unabated as investors cheered data suggesting that the U.S. economy remains on track for a strong quarter of growth while hopes of tax reformed grew after the House of Representatives passed a budget resolution on Thursday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed higher at 22776.70. The S&P 500 closed 0.56% higher while the Nasdaq Composite closed at 6585.36, up 0.78%.
US stocks started the session on the front foot following a duo of economic reports pointing to the strength in the economy. The U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday that initial jobless claims fell 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 60,000 for the week ended Sept. 30, beating forecasts of a 7,000 decline.
The trade deficit — which measures the gap between what the United States imports and what it exports — narrowed to $42.4 billion in August, down $1.2 billion from July. Exports in the August were $195.3 billion, while imports came to $237.7 billion.
On the political front, investor hopes of tax reform grew as the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives approved by a 219-206 vote a fiscal 2018 spending blueprint.
Republicans are aiming to pass tax cuts through what is known as budget reconciliation, a legislative tool allowing them to bypass Democrats and pass a tax bill by simple majority vote in the Senate, where they hold a 52 seat majority.
The rally in US stocks comes a day before the Labor Market Department releases its nonfarm payrolls report. Economists forecast 100,000 jobs were created in the previous month.
On the corporate front, Amazon (NASDAQ:NASDAQ:AMZN) looks set to disrupt the delivery industry following a Bloomberg report suggesting that the tech giant is trying out a new delivery program called “Seller Flex”.
The company will pick up packages from third-party sellers selling on its platform and deliver the products to customers.