Asian Equities Rise As US Data Allays Slowdown Fears; Currencies Stable

STOCK MARKET - JAKARTA. Emerging Asian equities advanced on Friday and were eyeing a positive end to an otherwise bumpy week after benign U.S. jobs data calmed recession fears and nudged the markets to pare back their bets of aggressive rate cuts by the Fed. 

Taiwan's benchmark index gained about 3% while shares in South Korea added 1.4%. MSCI's gauge of Asian emerging market equities , in which the two East Asian countries hold roughly 40% weight, jumped 2%. However, the historical sell-off on Monday weighed on the weekly score.