Asian shares rose on Friday, uplifted by news that China and the US may progress in finalising an audit agreement. At the same time, traders anxiously awaited comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on the path of rate hikes later in the day.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.6% in early trade, boosted by a 1.3% gain in Hong Kong-listed Chinese technology shares. Shares of Alibaba rose 4% in Hong Kong. That helped the Asian index maintain a 0.4% gain for the week.

On Thursday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Washington and Beijing were close to a deal allowing US accounting regulators to travel to Hong Kong to inspect the audit records of Chinese companies listed in the US. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.7%, Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.9%, and South Korea’s gained 0.5%.

Stocks on Wall Street rose overnight, while US Treasury yields slipped as investors digested comments from Fed officials who continued to stress they would push interest rates higher and hold them steady until inflation is squeezed out of the economy.

The S&P 500 gained 1.4%, and the Nasdaq gained 1.67%, benefiting from gains in Nvidia and other tech-related stocks.

With US inflation remaining at 8.5% yearly, well above the Fed’s 2% target, investors tempered expectations that the Fed may be inclined to slow the pace of rate hikes. But Powell’s speech on Friday will be closely watched for any signs that an economic slowdown could change the Fed’s strategy.

Interest rate futures now imply a 60% chance of the Fed raising rates by 75 basis points in September. In currency markets, the dollar was little changed against a basket of major currencies. The Australian and New Zealand commodities fell 0.4% against the greenback after a strong rebound the previous day.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury note edged up to 3.0425%, compared with the previous day’s US close of 3.024%.

The two-year US Treasury yield hit 3.3803% versus a US close of 3.374%, with traders expecting a rise in the federal funds rate.

Oil prices recovered on Friday after falling around $2 per barrel in the previous session on concerns about a possible recovery in sanctioned Iranian oil exports and rising US interest rates.

Brent crude was up 0.5% at $99.87 a barrel in early Asian trade, while US crude rose by a similar margin to $96.01 a barrel. Gold edged lower. Spot gold was trading at $1755.4698 an ounce.