(AFP)
Asian equities rose on Friday as investors tracked a record day on Wall Street in the wake of the Federal Reserve's latest interest rate cut.
The gains came despite renewed concerns about tech valuations after disappointing earnings from sector giants Oracle and Broadcom.
Markets ended a mixed week on a strong note, with eyes now on the release of delayed US jobs data next week, which could provide an insight into the central bank's plans for next year.
Figures released on Thursday showed initial jobless claims rose more than expected in the week ended December 6, marking their biggest increase for five and a half years and reinforcing the view of a softening labour market.
Traders welcomed Fed boss Jerome Powell's post-meeting comments on Wednesday -- which were seen as less hawkish than feared -- but the policy board's statement suggested it could hold off a fourth straight cut in January.
And analysts said the fact that three decision-makers unusually dissented complicated the policy outlook.
Still, investors in New York continued to look at the positives, pencilling in more cuts next year and pushing the S&P 500 and Dow to fresh records.
Asia followed suit, with Tokyo, Sydney, Singapore and Seoul up more than one percent, while Shanghai, Wellington, Mumbai and Manila also rose.
London edged up at the open even as data showed the UK economy unexpectedly shrunk in October. Paris and Frankfurt also rose.
Jakarta slipped, while Bangkok was barely moved as investors brushed off news that Thailand's prime minister had dissolved parliament, paving the way for general elections early next year.
The gains came despite worries about an AI-led tech rally that has seen many firms chalk up eye-watering gains, with chip giant Nvidia becoming the first to break a $5 trillion valuation in October.
The news came a day after software firm Oracle reported quarterly revenue had fallen short of forecasts and revealed a surge in spending on data centers to boost AI capacity.
Shares in Oracle ended down 10.8% in New York.
In corporate news, tech investment giant SoftBank jumped 3.9% as Bloomberg reported that the firm is looking a more acquisitions including data centre operator Switch as it looks to build its influence in the AI sector.