Asian Shares Advance As US Rate Hike Worries Ease

Asian stocks ended broadly higher on Friday, Treasury yields fell and the dollar sank after a slew of Fed officials said there is need for further rate increases at slower pace.

The dollar hung near its weakest level since May, helping gold prices trade near nine-month highs.

Oil prices were set to post a second straight week of gains after data showed Chinese November oil demand climbed to the highest level since February.

Chinese shares rose notably after a top official said the worst was over in the battle against COVID-19. Additionally, the People's Bank of China kept benchmark lending rates unchanged for a fifth month, widely in line with expectations.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite index climbed 0.76 percent to 3,264.81 in thin trading ahead of the Lunar New Year holidays, when hundreds of millions of people are headed home.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index jumped 1.82 percent to 22,044.65 as official data showed the city's unemployment rate decreased for the eighth month in a row in December.