Asian stock markets displayed a mixed performance on Friday, influenced by a modest rebound on Wall Street that saw major indices climb back near record highs, driven by gains in technology giants like NVIDIA.

US stock futures advanced, while international oil prices experienced a decline.

Technology stocks regained upward momentum after Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM), a core supplier to the semiconductor industry, released strong earnings data and announced a substantial investment plan. TSM's shares rose 2.7% in early Friday trading, lifting Taiwan's Taiex index by 2%.

The artificial intelligence boom has propelled NVIDIA and other star stocks to astonishing highs, simultaneously sparking market skepticism that valuations for these companies have become excessively stretched. A signal of confidence for the entire AI sector came from TSM's CFO, J.T. Huang, who stated the company is facing "continuously strong demand," a comment that helped boost NVIDIA's stock by 2.1%.

TSM's US-listed shares had climbed 4.4% on Thursday.

This upward trend in stock prices was also fueled by the signing of an agreement under which semiconductor and technology firms from Taiwan will make new investments totaling $250 billion in the United States; in exchange, the Trump administration will reduce import tariffs on goods from Taiwan. The agreement aims to build a strategic economic partnership while simultaneously upgrading US industrial infrastructure.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index edged down 0.1% to 54,062.28 points; Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.3% to 26,851.69 points; and the Shanghai Composite Index retreated slightly by 0.2% to 4,103.45 points.

Mainland China is scheduled to release its 2025 economic growth data next Monday.

Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea's KOSPI index rose 0.4% to 4,814.21 points, as the benchmark index, buoyed by renewed confidence in AI-related stocks, continued to trade near its all-time high for several consecutive weeks.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 index advanced 0.4% to 8,895.00 points; India's Sensex also gained 0.4%.

Wall Street stabilized and recovered on Thursday, led by a rebound in artificial intelligence sector stocks.

The S&P 500 index rose 0.3% to 6,944.47 points; the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 0.6% to 49,442.44 points; and the Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 0.2% to 23,530.02 points.

A retreat in international oil prices also helped ease investor anxiety.

In early Friday trading, the US benchmark crude oil futures price was $58.96 per barrel, down 12 cents from the previous session. This followed a sharp 4.6% single-day plunge on Thursday, triggered by comments from former President Trump who stated he had learned from a "reliable source" that Iran had halted planned executions amid widespread domestic anti-government protests.

The international benchmark Brent crude futures price fell 16 cents to $63.60 per barrel, after also declining 4.1% on Thursday.

Financial markets interpreted Trump's remarks as a potential easing of tensions over some of the world's largest oil fields, thereby reducing the likelihood of a disruption in oil supplies.

Meanwhile, the US corporate earnings season continued to accelerate, with several major financial institutions reporting their Q4 2025 results.

BlackRock, the industry behemoth with over $14 trillion in assets under management, saw its stock price jump 5.9% after reporting revenue and profit that exceeded analyst expectations.

Positive reports on the US economy further bolstered market sentiment.

One report showed a drop in the number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits last week, an indication that the wave of layoffs might be slowing; another report indicated that manufacturing activity in the US Mid-Atlantic region and New York State significantly outperformed economists' previous forecasts.

This better-than-expected US economic data propelled small-cap stocks to lead the market's gains. As the earnings of small-cap stocks are more closely tied to the domestic US economy compared to large multinational corporations, the Russell 2000 index rose 0.9%.

In other early Friday trading, the US dollar weakened against the Japanese yen, falling to 158.27 yen from 158.63 yen; the euro edged slightly higher against the dollar, rising to $1.1610 from $1.1609.