Asian shares, bitcoin rally in positive day for financial markets | News

Shares in Asia climbed in early trade on Friday in the run-up to the release of the United States’s jobless numbers as US and China’s trade chiefs reaffirmed their cooperation in a phone call and upbeat corporate earnings lifted sentiment.

Oil prices also rose as investors weighed Saudi Arabia’s global price hike, while bitcoin posted a surge above $10,000 for the first time since late February as investors piled into the cryptocurrency in the run-up to a technical event known as halving.

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Japan saw gains of more than 1 percent, the largest moves, while shares also rose 0.9 percent in Hong Kong and 0.4 percent Shanghai.

South Korea’s Kospi climbed 1.3 percent while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.9 percent.

Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer held a phone call late on Thursday in which they spoke about US-China trade, the US government said in a statement.

The two sides agreed there was…