Investors will be keeping an eye on the Japanese yen, which rose to a more than two-month high of 150.52 per U.S. dollar on Thursday.

Asia-Pacific markets trade in a tight range on Friday amid persistent concerns over U.S. trade tariffs and high for longer interest rates, while strong earnings from e-commerce giant Alibaba sparked a renewed rally in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 3.76% to its ... per U.S. dollar on Thursday amid bets of more rate hikes by the Bank of Japan this year. The currency is currently trading at 150.22 against ...