Shares were mostly higher Friday in Asia after Nvidia and other technology stocks led an advance on Wall Street. South Korea's Kospi fell 1 per cent to 6,841.50, while most other regional markets logged moderate gains. US futures were little changed and oil prices slipped. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 climbed 0.8 per cent to 66,682.88, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.3 per cent to 25,648.40. The Shanghai Composite index was nearly unchanged at 3,956.28. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 picked up 0.3 per cent to 9,063.50. Taiwan's Taiex surged 1 per cent.

The next big event for markets will be a speech Friday by the chairman of the Federal Reserve, Kevin Warsh. Despite pressure to provide guidance on US policy, he has sought to give financial markets fewer clues about how the Fed intends to control inflation. One wild card for inflation has been oil prices, which have been swinging with uncertainty about the war in Iran and when oil tankers will be allowed to freely navigate the Strait of Hormuz again.

The price for a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, slipped 0.3 per cent early Friday to USD 88.24. It rose 1.8 per cent on Thursday. US benchmark crude oil fell 0.4 per cent to USD 83.17 per barrel. On Thursday, the S&P 500 rose 0.7 per cent and pulled closer to its all-time high set earlier this month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.2 per cent, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 1.6 per cent.