MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was a fraction firmer in early trade, having gained 1.2 percent for the week so far and almost 5 percent for the month.
The US House of Representatives also overwhelmingly approved a new North American deal that leaves $1.2 trillion in annual US-Mexico-Canada trade flows largely intact. The market shrugged off US President Donald Trump's impeachment, as the Republican-controlled Senate is widely expected to keep him in office.It was mostly quiet in currencies, though sterling was nursing a grudge after suffering a vicious reversal that left it facing its worst weekly fall since late 2017 at 2.4 percent.
"GBP can fall because the trade concerns are taking place at a time when the UK trade deficit is the widest it has been in 10 years, and the current account deficit is at a historically large 5 percent of GDP."