Asian Markets Rise Amid Tech Rally and Interest Rate Speculation

Global shares were mixed on Friday as market sentiment got a boost from the tech-led rally on Wall Street. France's CAC 40 slipped 0.1% to 8,275.17 in early trading, while the German DAX was little changed, inching down less than 0.1% to 25,982.69. Britain's FTSE 100 gained less than 0.1% to 10,834.34.

U.S. shares were set to be little changed with Dow futures down nearly 0.1% at 53,697.00, while S&P 500 futures inched up less than 0.1% to 7,757.00.

In Asia, Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 1.3% to finish at 65,020.94. South Korea's Kospi gained 1.6% to 6,687.21. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.2% to 9,005.90. Hong Kong's Hang Seng jumped 1.7% to 25,650.87, while the Shanghai Composite lost 0.3% to 3,930.12.

The recent surge in energy prices is attributed to the six-month U.S. war with Iran, which has intensified lately. Many nations depend on access to the Strait of Hormuz to import oil from the Middle East. Iran fired at Kuwait on Thursday in retaliation for U.S. bombardments earlier in the week.

On interest rates, some investors are taking the recent remarks by Federal Reserve governor Christopher Waller as a sign that perhaps the Fed isn't as likely to raise its short-term interest rates at its next policy meeting in two weeks as previously expected. Waller said that, if new data next week shows inflation is cooling, he 'would be inclined' to keep the Fed's benchmark interest rate unchanged.