SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Asian shares edged higher on Friday, after U.S. equities were buoyed by solid quarterly earnings and a rebound in technology stocks, while the euro languished near three-month lows after the European Central Bank kept interest rates unchanged.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.3 percent.
Japan’s Nikkei gained 0.4 percent, while South Korea’s KOSPI climbed 1.1 percent.
U.S. stocks advanced on Thursday with each of Wall Street’s major indexes ending the session up 1 percent or higher, while Amazon.com Inc shares jumped more than 6 percent in after-market trading after the online retailer reported a 43 percent surge in first-quarter revenue.
The S&P 500 rose 1 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 1.6 percent.
Facebook surged 9.1 percent after posting an impressive earnings beat, which appeared to calm worries about the fallout from its use of consumer data.
So far, 45 percent of S&P 500 companies have reported first-quarter earnings, with 79.7 percent beating consensus estimates. Analysts see 23.1 percent earnings growth for the quarter, based on a blend of actual and estimated results.
The yield on U.S. 10-year Treasuries closed below the 3 percent level on Thursday as buyers emerged following a sell-off fueled by worries over growing U.S. debt issuance and rising costs.
The 10-year Treasury yield’s spike to four-year highs above 3 percent this week had weighed on equities, amid concerns that rising corporate borrowing costs could dampen profits.
In currency markets, the euro languished near a 3-1/2-month low after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi hailed “solid” euro zone growth but kept interest rates unchanged.
The euro
