HONG KONG, Nov 3 (AFP): Asian shares rose Friday, as investors tracked Wall Street gains after a new Federal Reserve chair was nominated and Apple suppliers benefited from the company's strong earnings report.
The Dow finished at a fresh record after US President Donald Trump chose Jerome Powell to lead the Fed, viewed as a non-controversial choice unlikely to radically change the gradual tightening monetary policies that stock markets support.
But optimism over a long-awaited tax cut plan unveiled by Congressional Republicans-intended to slash corporate rates and speed economic growth-was tempered by internal dissent and Democrat opposition.
Investors Friday also awaited the release of a key US jobs report giving non-farm payroll figures. A sharp rebound in employment levels was expected by the market, after September's numbers were hit by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma.
Meanwhile Apple suppliers in Asia rose as the company said profit had climbed 19 per cent to $10.7 billion, and predicted bumper sales for its 10th anniversary iPhone X.
Taiwan's Largan Precision rose, as did Hong Kong-listed Cowell E Holdings and Sunny Optical Technology.
Apple's latest smartphone was launched in more than 50 countries and territories Friday including in many Asian markets, with lengthy overnight queues at stores as chief executive Tim Cook described "very strong" orders.
Hong Kong shares rose 0.3 percent. Retail figures for the city were due out Friday, with a jump in mainland Chinese visitors expected to give a healthy reading, Bloomberg reported.
Taiwan rose 0.1 per cent, while South Korea gained 0.3 per cent to a new record high.
But Shanghai was down 0.3 per cent, as Beijing moved to tighten regulations on foreign acquisitions.
Meanwhile, Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba said soaring sales fuelled a 132 per cent increase in net profit in what it called an "outstanding" quarter.
