Asian stock markets climbed in early trading Friday as investors took heart from improving

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US housing and jobs data amid lingering worries over the pace of the global economic recovery.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 stock index rose 58.53 points, or 0.7 per cent, to 9,121.37. South Korea's Kospi edged up 0.4 per cent to 1,783.38. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.4 per cent at 4,582.90.

In New York on Thursday, the Dow Jones industrial average added 50.63 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 10,320.10.

Sentiment on Wall Street turned upbeat after the National Association of Realtors said Thursday that the number of buyers who signed contracts to purchase homes rose 5.2 per cent in July after hitting a record low in June.

A fall in new claims for US unemployment aid last week also helped lift sentiment. The Labor Department said Thursday that the number of American people requesting jobless benefits fell by 6,000 the previous week to a seasonally adjusted 472,000.

The four-week average of claims, a less-volatile measure, also fell by 2,500 to 485,500, the first drop after four straight increases. But even with the declines, US jobless claims are still at much higher levels than they would be in a healthy economy.

When economic output is growing rapidly and employers are hiring, such claims generally drop below 400,000.