In Asia, Nikkei futures traded in Chicago were up 0.22 percent at 20,065 while Osaka futures were mostly flat at 20,020. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index closed at 20,020.86 on Thursday.
Australian SPI futures were off 0.65 percent at 5,695 against the S&P/ASX 200’s last close of 5,732.126.
Stateside, stocks closed at record levels as investors parsed through earnings reports. Of the 53 S&P 500 components that had reported as of Tuesday, 77 percent beat earnings expectations while 75 percent topped on revenues, data from The Earnings Scout showed.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.31 percent, or 66.02 points, to close at 21,640.75, the S&P 500 gained 0.54 percent, or 13.22 points, to end at 2,473.83 and the Nasdaq advanced 0.64 percent, or 40.74 points, to finish at 6,385.04.
In currencies, the dollar index, which tracks the dollar against a basket of rival currencies, firmed to trade at 94.779 at 7:00 a.m. HK/SIN. The dollar had hit a 10-month low of 94.476 earlier in the week.
The dollar was softer against the yen, with the greenback trading at its lowest levels in around three weeks. The dollar last traded at 111.85.
The Australian dollar strengthened to trade at $0.7956 ahead of the release the country’s June jobs report at 9:30 a.m. HK/SIN.
On the central bank front, the BOJ’s rates decision and its quarterly outlook are due. The Bank Indonesia is set to announce its interest rate decision later in the day.
The ECB is expected to announce its decision at 7:45 p.m. HK/SIN.
— CNBC’s Fred Imbert contributed to this report.