This is CNBC's live blog covering Asia-Pacific markets.

China stocks gained Friday ahead of a key policy meeting reportedly set for next week, while other Asia markets tracked Wall Street declines overnight.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was up 1.5% in its final hour of trade, while mainland China's CSI 300 gained 1.31% to close at 3,973.14.

China's top leaders are reportedly kicking off an annual economic planning meeting next week, where the authorities will discuss economic targets and additional stimulus plans for 2025.

Market participants are hoping for announcements of measures to shore up the faltering economy and offset the impact of looming U.S. tariffs.

Other Asia-Pacific markets fell Friday as investors assessed Japan's household spending data and India's GDP growth downgrade.

South Korea's Kospi fell 0.56% to end at 2,428.16, while the Kosdaq dropped 1.43% to 661.33.

Investors continue to monitor the country's political situation amid moves to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol for his brief declaration of martial law earlier this week. The country's top opposition party reportedly said Friday that lawmakers were on standby after receiving reports of another potential martial law declaration.

Traders in Asia also assessed household spending data out of Japan. Spending fell 1.3% in October year-over-year, slower than the 2.6% decline expected by economists polled by Reuters. On a monthly basis, spending grew 2.9% in October compared to September, beating expectations of a 0.4%.

Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.9% to end the trading day at 39,091.17, while the Topix lost 0.55% to end at 2,727.22.

India on Friday kept its interest rate steady at 6.5% as it seeks to tame inflation after it surged to a 14-month high in October. The benchmark Nifty 50 index was marginally higher.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.64% to end the day at 8,420.9.

In the U.S. on Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 248.33 points, or 0.55%, to close at 44,765.71.

The Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.18% to end at 19,700.26, while the S&P 500 dropped 0.19%, settling at 6,075.11.

Investors are looking ahead to key U.S. employment data set for release on Friday. The labor report could inform the Federal Reserve's rate decision at its policy meeting later this month.

— CNBC's Lisa Kailai Han and Sean Conlon contributed to this report.

India keeps interest rate unchanged amid rising inflation risks and a slowing economy

India's central bank expectedly kept the benchmark interest rate unchanged at 6.50% on Friday as it struggles to contain rising inflation without hurting growth in Asia's third-largest economy.

The decision came in line with economists' expectation in a Reuters poll, as India's consumer prices inflation surged to a 14-month high of 6.21% in October, significantly higher than the RBI's target of 4% and also above its tolerance ceiling of 6%.

The Reserve Bank of India has held the interest rate steady since February last year, however, a sharper-than-anticipated slowdown in India's economic growth has made the central bank's task tougher.

In the July to September period, India's economy grew 5.4% from a year ago, drastically missing Reuters-polled economists' expectation of 6.5%, and marked the slowest pace in nearly two years.

— Anniek Bao

South Korea defense stocks fall amid tense political situation

South Korea's defense stocks were trading down Friday, amid moves by opposition parties to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol's following his declaration of martial law and rescinding it within hours.

Kospi constituents Hanwha Aerospace and Korea Aerospace were down 4.4% and 4.5%, respectively, while Genohco, part of the small-cap Kosdaq, fell about 5%.

South Korean indexes were also down, with the Kospi dropping 0.7% and the Kosdaq falling 2.8%.

According to reports, South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party said lawmakers were on standby and would hold an emergency meeting Friday after receiving reports of another martial law declaration.

— Dylan Butts

Trump says venture capitalist David Sacks will be AI and crypto ‘czar’

Venture investor and podcaster David Sacks will join the Trump administration as the "White House A.I. & Crypto Czar," President-elect Donald Trump announced on Truth Social on Thursday.

Sacks will guide the administration's policies for artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency, Trump wrote. Some of that work includes creating a legal framework for crypto, as well as leading a presidential council of advisors on science and technology.

"David will focus on making America the clear global leader in both areas," Trump wrote. "He will safeguard Free Speech online, and steer us away from Big Tech bias and censorship."

The appointment signals that the second Trump administration is rewarding Silicon Valley figures who supported his campaign. It also indicates that the administration will push for policies that cryptocurrency entrepreneurs generally support.

— Kif Leswing

CNBC Pro: Top picks for 2025: Stocks from Korea, Japan, Hong Kong and Malaysia among Macquarie's favorites — all with more than 50% upside

Macquarie has named several Asian companies as its top picks for 2025, with predicted gains ranging from 50% to over 80% in their share prices.

The selection spans multiple sectors including technology, automotive, defense, and power utilities, reflecting the investment bank's positive view on these industries for the coming year.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Ganesh Rao

Morgan Stanley is bullish on India heading into 2025

India remains the "market to beat" heading into 2025, according to Morgan Stanley.

In a Thursday note, the bank wrote it expects India to be one of the best-performing emerging markets in the new year.

"With strong earnings, macro stability and domestic flows, it is hard to argue against India's investment case," strategist Ridham Desai wrote. "That said, potential global growth risks plus a bunching up of IPOs and near-term growth concerns present challenges."

— Lisa Kailai Han

Global tech earnings growth in 2025 will drive further equity gains, UBS says

UBS is staying bullish on domestic equities. The firm cited the fundamentally strong state of the U.S. economy and forecasted further market gains fueled by rate cuts and artificial intelligence.

"With big tech's ongoing commitment to AI spending, and improving AI adoption and monetization trends, we forecast earnings growth of 22% for the global tech sector in 2024 and 18% in 2025," said Solita Marcelli, chief investment officer Americas for UBS Global Wealth Management, in a Thursday note to clients. "So, without taking any single-name views, we believe investors should position for further equity gains."

Marcelli said she favors technology, utilities and financials sectors within U.S. stocks and sees value in having a diversified exposure to Asia, excluding Japan.

— Pia Singh

S&P's year-to-date performance is second-highest of 21st century so far, according to Deutsche Bank

The S&P 500 ended Wednesday 0.61% higher to close at yet another new record. This upside has added on to the benchmark's strong year-to-date performance, putting it on pace to potentially notch its best-performing year of the 21st century if stocks can rise again in December.

"It now means the S&P 500 is up +27.6% so far in 2024, which is only a couple of points behind its 2013 gain (+29.6%) that still stands as the strongest annual advance of the 21st century so far," Deutsche Bank wrote in a Thursday note.

— Lisa Kailai Han

Oil prices rise as OPEC+ delays production increase

Oil prices rose slightly Thursday after OPEC+ members agreed to delay production increases.

U.S. crude oil futures gained 43 cents, or 0.63%, to $68.97 per barrel by 9:33 a.m. ET. Brent crude futures rose 41 cents, or 0.57%, to $72.72 per barrel.

Eight OPEC+ members led by Saudi Arabia and Russia will keep voluntary production cuts of 2.2 million barrels per day in place until the end of March 2025.

The cuts will then be gradually phased out on a monthly basis until the end of September 2026 to "support market stability," according to a statement from the countries. 

OPEC+ wants to bring supply back to the market is under pressure from soft demand in China and strong production in the U.S., which are driving prices lower.,

— Spencer Kimball