In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng Index was up 65 points, or 0.25 percent, to 26,011.
Up north, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index was down 0.11 percent to 3,870 while the Shenzhen Component Index edged down 0.04 percent to 12,869 and the ChiNext Index, tracking China’s board of growth enterprises, was down 0.04 percent to 3,029.
The S&P/ASX 200 index opened up sevent points, or 0.09 percent, at 8,624.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average opened up up 51 points, or 0.1 percent, at 50,218 and was headed for a weekly rise of 3.2 percent. For the month, it was, however, down 4.3 percent.
US markets, which were closed overnight for Thanksgiving, are due for a shortened session on Friday, so activity is more muted than usual across the major asset classes. European stocks traded mostly higher, while currencies were much more sedate.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was flat on Friday, leaving it on track for a 3 percent gain in the week, the first weekly rise in four. For the month, it was still down 2.7 percent.
South Korean shares were, however, down 1 percent after the country’s central bank held rates steady and signalled an end to the easing cycle. Still, the index is up 2.5 percent in the week.
November proved to be unusually choppy for global equities as concerns about tech stocks’ sky-high valuations shook markets while a US government shutdown ended only after a record 43 days. The risk-barometer bitcoin slid 17 percent in November.
The lack of economic data from the government shutdown has made the Federal Reserve cautious about further policy easing, but heavyweights like Federal Reserve governor Christopher Waller and New York Fed president John Williams have voiced support for a rate cut next month, stabilising sentiment.
Fed funds futures are implying an 85 percent chance of a rate cut next month, a sea change from just 30 percent a week earlier, CME FedWatch showed.
“If I put it all together, and if I look at valuation compared to bubbles in the past, for example, I think we’re not there fully yet,” said Vincenzo Vedda, chief investment officer at DWS.
“We believe generally that inflation remains in check… Generally speaking, in the next 12 months, we have decent growth… Overall, you have a benign environment for risky assets.” (Reuters/Xinhua)
