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· Asian shares come off one-month lows; eyes on U.S. payrolls

A late rally in Chinese shares on Friday helped pull Asian stocks off one-month lows as investors picked bargains while attention shifted to U.S. non-farm payrolls due later in the day.

E-Mini futures for S&P 500, which were down 0.5% during early Asian trading, gave up all losses by afternoon to be a shade higher.

Futures for Europe were pointing to a weaker start though, with those for Eurostoxx 50, Germany’s Dax and London’s FTSE down 0.3% to 0.6%.

In Asia, Australian stocks dropped more than 0.7%, Japan’s Nikkei share average shed 0.2%, after earlier being down more than 1%, and shares in Seoul fell 0.4%.

That left MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside of Japan down 0.4% at 694.87 but still above the day’s low of 684.52, a level not seen since Feb. 1.

Investor focus turned to the release of the U.S. non-farm payrolls for February, with the market eyeing a bounce back in employment growth and a steady unemployment rate at 6.3%.

· Japanese shares end lower as index heavyweights retreat

Japanese shares fell for a second straight session on Friday, dragged down by losses in index heavyweights and technology shares, as rising U.S. bond yields hit investor sentiment.

The Nikkei share average edged down 0.23% to 28,864.32 and recorded its second straight weekly loss. The broader Topix closed 0.61% lower at 1,896.18.

The declines followed a weaker overnight finish on Wall Street that left the Nasdaq down nearly 10% from its February record high, as remarks by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell failed to calm investors worried about rising longer-term U.S. bond yields.

U.S. Treasury yields jumped during U.S. trading hours after Powell’s speech, sending the 10-year yield to top 1.5%.

· China ramps up tech commitment in 5-year plan, eyes 7% boost in R&D spend

China will increase its annual research and development spending by more than 7% every year over the next five years, the government wrote on Friday in its work report from the Fourth Session of the 13th National People's Congress.

The government will increase expenditure on basic research by 10.6% in 2021, the report added.

· Stock futures little changed after a steep sell-off on Wall Street amid surging bond yields

Stock futures were little changed in early morning trading Friday following a tech-led rout on Wall Street amid a surge in bond yields.

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were just 3 points higher. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures also traded little changed. Earlier, Dow futures had fallen 200 points.

· European markets fall as Fed comments reignite global stock jitters

European markets retreated Friday as another surge in bond yields continues to roil global stocks.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 dropped 0.9% in early trade, with travel and leisure stocks shedding 1.8% to lead losses as all sectors and major bourses slid into negative territory.

Shares in Europe received a weak handover from Asia-Pacific, where MSCI’s broadest index of stocks dropped 0.53% during Friday’s trade. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang announced the world’s second-largest economy would target growth of over 6% for 2021.

· Gap forecasts return to sales growth in 2021, sending shares higher despite sales miss

Reference: CNBC, Reuters