Asian stocks broadly higher as risk aversion ebbs

The Pacific Asian market session is seeing a broad-base recovery extend its climb through Friday as fear-weary investors bid up risk assets in a renewed bout of risk appetite that has extended through the majority of this week.

Stocks have been seen broadly higher this week, albeit with a few caveats in marginalized tech sectors and specific avenues in the emerging markets space. 

The latest round of tariffs in the tit-for-tat trade spat between the US and China were counter-intuitively well-received by broader markets after the US' $200 billion in tariffs were only slated at 10% instead of 25%, and risk appetite remains bid as investors await China's promised response, while a further raft of $267 billion in tariffs from the US is being preemptively threatened by the US presidential administration.

Japan's Nikkei 225 is up a healthy 0.85%, with Tokyo's Topix index up a similar 0.90% for Friday, with the Australian ASX 200 more sedate but still positive, up 0.25%, with the broad Asia-Pacific MSCI index also up 0.25% for the day; in China, investor confidence remains on the high side, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng index is in the green 0.95%, with Shanghai's CSI 300 index pinned into 1.30% for Friday.

Nikkei 225 levels to watch

The Nikkei 225 index is trading into 23,670, sitting close to the week's peak of 23,840. The Nikkei remains well above the week's open of 22,650, claiming the 23,000 major technical level, which has kept the bourse under wraps since May of this year. Resistance points remain thin until January's all-time highs of 24,130, and buyers will be looking for the 23,000 handle to rollover into a support level going forward.