Hong Kong - The equity rally that has kicked off 2018 continued on Friday, with Asian markets picking up the baton from another set of records on Wall Street.
Dealers are now turning their attention to the release later in the day of key US jobs data, which is expected to show the world’s top economy continuing to improve.
A forecast-smashing reading Thursday on private take-ups boosted optimism, which had already been bolstered by US tax cuts, healthy corporate profits and strong manufacturing figures from around the world.
Global markets powered ahead in 2017 as economies showed long-running improvements after years of faltering.
Greg McKenna, chief market strategist at AxiTrader, said in a note that data from the manufacturing and services sectors “suggests economic strength across the globe remains robust”.
He noted that an index of world factory activity was at its highest level in seven years.