Asia-Pacific equities claw back early losses, Nikkei recovers

Asia-Pacific equities staged a solid recovery on Friday, bouncing back from an early sell-off to finish broadly higher across the region. Japan's Nikkei 225 was choppy through the session, sliding as much as 1.6% before clawing back the losses to trade up 0.7% by lunch, while the broader Topix climbed 0.9%. The volatility reflected a tug-of-war between lingering concerns over stretched tech valuations and a run of encouraging domestic data, with the KOSPI following a similar path to also finish in the green.

Underpinning the recovery was a stronger-than-expected reading on Japan's service sector. The final S&P Global Japan Services PMI for June rose to 52.2 from a neutral 50.0 in May, reinforcing the view that domestic demand remains resilient despite global headwinds. For forex traders, the data supports the case for the Bank of Japan to continue normalizing policy, which could narrow the rate differential with the US and lend support to the yen. Live FX prices and charts on NowPrice show how the market is reacting to these developments in real time.

Looking ahead, markets will focus on US nonfarm payrolls data due later today for further clues on the Federal Reserve's policy path. A strong print could reignite rate hike fears and weigh on risk-sensitive currencies, while a miss might boost expectations of a pause. In Asia, the focus will be on any further signs of economic stabilization in China, as well as the Bank of Japan's next policy meeting later this month.