Overnight

It was give back time overnight as several markets gave up some of their recent gains following unexciting sessions in the U.S. and Europe as the MSCI, the. Road east index of non-Japanese shares in the Asian-Pacific shed 0.6% while the Nikkei 225 lost a similar amount. The Hang Send dropped nearly 1.0%; the Kospi fell 0.7%; the Shanghai Composite was off 0.69%; the Shenzhen Composite shed 1.19% and the ASX 200 down 1.02%. U.S. 10-year Treasuries didn't help matters as they dropped from Thursday yield of 2.492 to 2.439%.

In Korea concerns about impeachment took a step back as President Geun-hey remains embroiled in a political scandal as the revised third-quater GDP came in up 0.6% from the previous quarter. An earlier estimate expected 0.7%. Crude oil slipped overnight but held above $50 a barrel. U.S. futures retreated slightly at  $50.89 a barrel with Brent at $53.58, off 0.67% and the dollar softened ahead of the U.S. jobs report due out later Friday. The dollare index traded at 100.88 down from the previous session at 101.59. The yen weakened also falling below the 114 level to 113.95 against the buck. Gold continues under pressure as it traded at $1,173.20 an ounce, still above around the $1,060 level it began at the beginning of this year.