Japan: Japan's Nikkei share average reached a record high on Friday, although gains were somewhat limited due to investor caution regarding the ongoing rally. The Nikkei rose by 0.7% to close at 44,668.23, after hitting a record intraday high of 44,888.02 earlier in the session.

According to Qatar News Agency, the index is expected to achieve a 3.8% increase for the week. Meanwhile, the broader Topix index increased by 0.35% to 3,158.80, putting it on track for a 1.7% gain over the same period.

The upward movement of the Nikkei index reflects a strong performance on Wall Street, where major indexes closed at record highs on Thursday. This positive trend was supported by US inflation and jobless data, which strengthened expectations of an impending interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve this month.