Asian stocks advance on optimism over pandemic recovery

BANGKOK (AP) — Shares were higher across Asia on Friday after a strong gains on Wall Street driven by hopes for a powerful recovery from the pandemic.

Tokyo, Hong Kong, Seoul and Shanghai all gained and U.S. futures also were higher.

Hopes that economies will regain ground lost since last year's first outbreaks of coronavirus thanks to COVID-19 vaccinations and huge amounts of government have helped support stocks. At the same time, a quick rise in U.S. interest rates has undercut those advances.

The U.S. government reported the number of workers filing for unemployment benefits fell last week to its lowest level since before the pandemic, helping to boost sentiment.

“Although very much in the price, investors did take solace as the positive outlook for vaccines amid President Joe Biden’s plan for an ‘economic rejuvenation,' which underpinned risk overnight," Stephen Innes of Axi said in a commentary.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index surged 1.6% to 29,176.70 and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong picked up 1.6% to 28,340.97. In Seoul, the Kospi rose 1.1% to 3,041.01. The Shanghai Composite index climbed 1.6% to 3,418.33 and India's Sensex gained 1.3% higher.

On Thursday, the S&P 500 rose 0.5% to 3,909.52 after having been down 0.9% in the early going. But it was still on track for a loss for the week.

Investors have been moving money away from expensive tech stocks as part of a broader shift to stocks tied more closely to economic growth. There’s a good chance the recovery could be surprisingly strong with little interference from the Federal Reserve, said Andrew Slimmon, portfolio manager at Morgan Stanley Investment Management.

“There is a very clear message that the Fed is going to sit back and let the economy grow at a hotter rate because their number one...