U.S. Markets News

Japanese shares led a rebound in Asian markets on Friday, building on the lead from investors on Wall Street snapping up stocks that would benefit most from an economic recovery.

Japanese stocks reclaimed lost ground on Friday after three consecutive days of losses, as a rebound in Wall Street and positive corporate earnings lured buyers back to the markets.

Gold edged lower on Friday, as a firmer dollar made bullion more expensive for other currency holders, although a pullback in the U.S. Treasury yields limited losses for the safe-haven metal. FUNDAMENTALS * Spot gold was down 0.2% at $1,823.77 per ounce by 0127 GMT. Bullion lost 0.4% so far this week. * U.S. gold futures were steady at $1,823.20. * The dollar index held firm near a one-week high, and was set for a weekly gain ag

* Biden: U.S. fuel shortages to end in days as pipeline reopens

The following table shows rates for Asian currencies against the dollar at 0154 GMT. CURRENCIES VS U.S. DOLLAR Currency Latest bid Previous day Pct Move Japan yen 109.600 109.45 -0.14 Sing dlr 1.334 1.3332 -0.07 Taiwan dlr 27.956 27.996 +0.14 Korean won 1129.800 1129.3 -0.04 Baht 31.320 31.3

U.S. corn futures rose more than 0.5% on Friday, as technical support lifted up prices from a two-week low hit earlier in the session, though the market was set for its biggest weekly loss in nearly two years on higher-than-expected global production outlook.

Chinese biotech firm Kintor Pharmaceutical Limited saw its stock price jump by more than 20% the day after it announced on April 25 that it had "completed the first patient enrollment and dosing" in a late-stage U.S. clinical trial of its experimental COVID-19 treatment.

* Bitcoin near 2 1/2-month on Tesla about-face, Binance probe

U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday reassured U.S. motorists that fuel supplies should start returning to normal this weekend, even as more filling stations ran out of gasoline across the Southeast nearly a week after a cyber attack on the nation's top fuel pipeline.