Asia stocks rise

SINGAPORE, June 3 (CNBC): Shares in Asia-Pacific rose on Friday as several major regional markets were closed for a holiday and investors looked ahead to the release of US jobs data for May.

Japanese stocks led gains among the region's major markets, with the Nikkei 225 gaining 1.27 per cent on the day to 27,761.57 as shares of Fast Retailing soared 5.86 per cent. The Topix index rose 0.35 per cent to 1,933.14.

The Kospi in South Korea edged 0.44 per cent higher to close at 2,670.65, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.88 per cent to end its trading day at 7,238.80.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded 0.51 per cent higher.

"It is premature, if not incorrect, to suggest that the bearish sentiment in markets may have peaked. We have argued, in our daily and ad-hoc publications, that bouts of optimism in a bear market are par for the course," Lavanya Venkateswaran, an economist at Mizuho Bank, wrote in a Friday note.

Markets in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan were closed on Friday for a holiday.