Japan stocks were higher after the close on Friday, as gains in the Manufacturing, Precision Instruments and Automobiles & Parts sectors led shares higher.

Bitcoin’s price fell slightly on Thursday amid caution over an upcoming U.S. inflation reading that is likely to factor into the outlook for interest rates cuts.

Gold prices fell slightly in Asian trade on Friday, but remained close to record highs as markets awaited more cues on interest rates from key U.S. inflation data due later in the day.

Most Asian currencies kept to a tight range on Friday as the dollar held recent gains in anticipation of key inflation data that is likely to factor into the outlook for interest rates. 

Asian stocks rose on Friday as technology stocks recovered from Nvidia-induced losses, while month-end bargain buying saw Chinese shares rebound from more-than six-month lows. 

Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) is considering options to weather a historic slump, which include potentially splitting off its foundry business and scrapping plans for new factories, Bloomberg reported on Thursday.