Asia markets flat Friday morning following weaker Wall Street

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slipped 0.3 percent. Japan's Nikkei lost 0.2 percent, while South Korea's KOSPI dropped 0.8 percent and Australia <.AXJO> fell 1.4 percent (A pedestrian walks past an electric quotation board flashing the Nikkei key index of the Tokyo Stock Exchange in front of a securities company in Tokyo on October 25, 2016. - AFP)

SINGAPORE: Asian shares were flat in early trade on Friday following mostly sluggish sessions on Wall Street and Europe, as 10-year U.S. Treasury yields surged to near 18-month highs and crude futures soared to 16-month highs.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was little changed, but remained on track to end the week up 0.6 percent.

Japan's Nikkei, which jumped to an 11-month high on Thursday, slipped 0.6 percent early on Friday as the yen strengthened. It is set for a weekly gain of 0.1 percent.

Yields on 10-year U.S. Treasuries touched 2.492 percent on Thursday, the highest since June 2015, after data showed factory activity accelerating in November and construction spending at a seven-month high in October.

The strong data boosted the case for higher interest rates, expectations for which have already jumped on promises of fiscal stimulus from the incoming Trump administration and rising oil prices, both potential contributors to inflation.

Investors are now looking to November's employment report due later in the session for further evidence of improvement in the economy.

Global benchmark Brent futures jumped to a 16-month high of $54.53 a barrel on Thursday after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed its first output cuts since 2008. Russia also agreed to join output cuts for the first time in 15 years.

U.S. crude , which climbed 13 percent on Wednesday and Thursday combined, extended the gains to Friday, climbing 0.2 percent to $51.17. It is on track for an increase of 11.1 percent this week.

"Support for energy stocks may carry through today as oil prices continue to rise in response to OPEC's production agreement," Ric Spooner, chief market analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney, wrote in a note.

While the increase in risk appetite helped lift the Dow Jones Industrial Average to a record closing high, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq ended the day with losses as expensive technology stocks pulled back.

Earlier, European markets also had a lackluster session, with the STOXX 600 <.STOXX> down 0.3 percent at the close after pulling back from the previous session's three-week high.

Investors remained nervous ahead of a constitutional referendum in Italy and a presidential election in Austria this weekend.

"A weak lead from U.S. markets, Italy's referendum and tonight's release of U.S. jobs data all provide reasons for the stock market to close the week in cautious, wait-and-see mode," Spooner said.

The dollar, which hit the highest level since February versus the yen earlier on Thursday, retreated after weekly jobless claims, which hit a 43-year low in mid-November, rose to its highest level in five months last week.

Despite the increase, claims remained below the 300,000 threshold, which is associated with a healthy labor market, for the 91st straight week, and layoffs fell 12 percent during the month.

The dollar closed down 0.3 percent on Thursday and was trading 0.1 percent lower at 113.78 yen early on Friday, but remains on track for a weekly gain of 0.5 percent.

The dollar index <.DXY>, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major global peers, also slipped 0.1 percent on Friday, extending losses for the week to 0.6 percent.

The British pound touched a near-two-month high versus the dollar on Thursday after Brexit minister David Davis said Britain would consider paying into the European Union budget for market access.

Sterling was steady at $1.2585 in early Asian trade on Friday.

The euro also strengthened on Thursday, rising 0.7 percent, and was steady at $1.06640 on Friday.- Reuters