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Asian futures were little changed in early trading after progress in vaccine distribution and a large US stimulus program sent two major Wall Street indexes to record closing highs.
E-mini futures for the S&P 500 and Hong Kong's HangSeng index futures were essentially flat while Japan's Nikkei 225 futures inched 0.1 per cent higher.
The Australian S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.9 per cent in early trade.
Wall Street rallied for a fourth consecutive day on Thursday as Democrats pushed ahead with US President Joe Biden' proposed $1.9 trillion stimulus plan without bipartisan support. Some investors expected the Department of Labor to release better-than-expected jobs data later on Friday.
"The US is looking good on a relative basis, with rising inflation expectations, steeper yield curves, the US vaccination rate is rising, and savings rates are declining,"said Chris Weston, head research analyst at Pepperstone group.
Each of the major Wall Street indexes rose more than 1 per cent on Thursday. The Nasdaq Composite Index and S&P 500set record highs.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 332.26 points,or 1.08 per cent, to 31,055.86, the S&P 500 gained 41.57 points,or 1.09 per cent, at 3,871.74 and the Nasdaq Composite added167.20 points, or 1.23 per cent, at 13,777.74.
MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe gained 0.01 per cent.
Bullish sentiment around stimulus and the broader US economic recovery also pushed longer-term Treasury yields higher and strengthened the dollar.
The benchmark 10-year yield rose about 1 basis point to 1.1409 per cent as investors positioned for a large pandemic relief package. The 20-year US Treasury yield rose2 basis points to 1.7396 per cent.
The US dollar index rose 0.5 per cent as the euro weakened.
Strength in the dollar limited gains in oil markets which continued their upswing as promised supply cuts mean inventories were likely to stay low.
US crude recently rose 0.52 per cent to $56.52 per barrel and Brent was at $59.11, up 1.11 per cent on the day.
Spot gold added 0.2 per cent, at $1,795.30 an ounce, and US gold futures % to $1,788.90 an ounce.
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