Japan stocks soar but rest of Asia uneven as Miran gets Fed nod

*Japan's Topix index rises above 3,000 for first time

*Nasdaq futures rise, on track for third day of gains

*Markets eye dovish tilt at Fed as Miran appointed

Asian markets made an uneven recovery on Friday, with Japan's broadest stock index hitting a record high on strong corporate earnings and expectations that the U.S. would remove overlapping tariffs on the country's goods.

But declines on the Hong Kong, South Korea and Australia bourses underscored fragile investor confidence after a retreat on Wall Street, as traders weighed the impact of appointments to the U.S. Federal Reserve on its policy direction.

Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 2% and the Topix index climbed more than 1% to a fresh record, trading above 3,000 for the first time.

Shares in SoftBank Group rallied as much as 11% after the technology investor reported that it swung back to profit in the first quarter. Sony Group gained 6%, adding to its earnings-fuelled 4.1% advance from Thursday.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slipped 0.6% with Hong Kong leading declines, after U.S. stocks ended the previous session with mild losses after nearing a one-week high.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he would nominate Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Stephen Miran to fill a vacant seat at the Federal Reserve for a few months while the White House seeks a permanent addition to the central bank's governing board and continues its search for a new Fed chair.

"It locks in a vote for rate cuts at all the meetings between now and the end of January," said Ray Attrill, head of FX strategy at National Australia Bank in Sydney.

"Markets are already travelling with a very strong expectation that there will be a rate cut," he added. "Though there's a question mark over the whether he'll succeed in ratification in time for the September meeting."

The market is also digesting a Bloomberg News report that Fed Governor Christopher Waller is the top candidate to replace Chair Jerome Powell, whose term ends on May 15, 2026.

Gold futures hit a record high after a report in the Financial Times that the United States had imposed tariffs on imports of 1-kg gold bars, which comprise the bulk of Switzerland’s bullion exports to the U.S., citing a letter from Customs and Border Protection. Spot gold was 0.1% lower, with bullion last trading at $3393.36 per ounce.

U.S. stock futures, the S&P 500 e-minis, were up 0.3%, while Nasdaq futures rose 0.4%, on track to extend gains into a third day.

The rally for stocks comes "against the backdrop of an emerging titanic dovish pivot at the Federal Reserve," said Tony Sycamore, market analyst at IG in Sydney.

The yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes rose to 4.2442%, unchanged from the U.S. close on Thursday, after weak demand at an auction of 30-year bonds, the latest in a string of lacklustre sales this week.

The rally in Japanese stocks follows a mixed bag of earnings reports for the country's biggest exporters, as some companies such as Toyota Motor slashed their profit forecasts due to U.S. tariffs, while Sony and Honda said the impact would be less than feared.

As the effective date of recent U.S. trade duties arrived, Tokyo's trade negotiator said the U.S. government on Thursday promised it would fine-tune some of its overlapping tariffs on Japanese goods to avoid the duties being paid on some products twice.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.7%, with technology shares leading declines and China's blue-chip CSI 300 index fluctuating between gains and losses, and last up 0.1%. Australian stocks were 0.1% lower and Korea's Kospi fell 0.7%.

The dollar rose 0.1% against the yen to 147.24.

Data on Friday showed Japanese household spending data rose by a slower-than-anticipated 1.3%. The data is being closely watched for clues on consumption as the Bank of Japan debates the likelihood of resuming interest rate increases.

The European single currency dipped 0.1% to $1.1652, having gained 2.13% in a month, while the dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of currencies of other major trading partners, was up 0.2% at 98.188.

In oil markets, Brent futures were unchanged at $66.45 per barrel, while U.S. crude futures were little changed at $63.81.