Stocks Rise in Run-Up to Jackson Hole Speeches -- Update

Investors turn to Yellen, Draghi

-- Best day for Shanghai stocks in a year

-- Oil prices climb as hurricane nears Texas

-- Samsung weighs down Korea's Kospi

Stocks mostly nudged higher Friday, keeping bourses around the world on track for weekly gains.

The Stoxx Europe 600 inched up 0.2% in morning trading as a climb in the banking, auto and mining sectors offset losses in shares of retailers. Stock markets in Asia closed higher, led by a strong performance in Chinese banks, while futures pointed to flat opening on Wall Street,

Yields on 10-year German government bonds climbed to 0.396% from 0.378% Thursday while 10-year Treasurys were steady at 2.193% from 2.194%. Yields move inversely to prices.

The moves came ahead of speeches later in the day from the heads of the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank at the annual Jackson Hole gathering of central bankers. Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen will deliver a speech on financial stability at 10 a.m. EDT, while European Central Bank President Mario Draghi will deliver a luncheon address around 3 p.m. EDT.

While no major policy announcements are anticipated by investors, most will be watching their comments closely.

"We expect that the ECB will remain accommodative, and [Mr. Draghi] has to say that to limit the upside on the euro and limit the risk on economic growth," said Philippe Waechter, chief economist at Natixis Asset Management. Should Mr. Draghi not say anything to that effect, the market could take that as a cue to keep buying the euro, he said.

The euro was flat against the dollar at $1.1796 in morning trading after climbing 12% so far this year.

The dollar, meanwhile, has weakened around 7% against a basket of 16 currencies, in part due to fading hopes for fiscal stimulus and expectations that interest rates will rise only gradually in the U.S.

Investors currently price just a 42% chance of a rate rise in the U.S. by the end of the year, according to Fed-fund futures tracked by CME Group, and nearly 35% expect rates to be unchanged in August 2018, well below the Fed's own projections for monetary policy.

Holly MacDonald, chief investment strategist at Bessemer Trust, said she thinks there might be room for more of a hawkish surprise from the Fed this weekend, given current market pricing.

"Given that inflation has been so low, it is reasonable to expect the Fed will be very measured," she said. But most readings suggest the economy is in good shape, and there is a chance Ms. Yellen could discuss current financial conditions, implying higher rates, she said.

Earlier, Asian stocks picked up momentum after a muted start to Friday's trading.

Chinese equities led the way as shares rebounded on gains in the banking sector ahead of first-half reports. The Shanghai Composite was up 1.8% in its best day of the year, with Industrial & Commercial Bank of China hitting a nine-year high ahead of its earnings release on Wednesday.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed 1.2%, helped by better-than-expected results from oil company Cnooc.

Japan's Nikkei rose 0.5% as the dollar strengthened against the yen, with Yamaha Motor Co., Toyota Motor Co. and Sony Corp. all rising close to 1%. Still, the Nikkei logged a sixth straight weekly drop despite gains overseas, its longest losing streak since the start of 2014.

Gains in South Korea's Kospi index were muted with the overall index up just 0.1% as shares of Samsung Electronics Co. fell 1.1%. Samsung 's de facto leader, Lee Jae-yong, was found guilty of bribing South Korea's president and sentenced to five years in prison on Friday.

In commodities, Brent crude oil rose 0.9% to $52.13 a barrel, partially reversing Thursday's declines as the market watched the progress of Hurricane Harvey toward Texas. Crude fell Thursday on worries that refiners' near-term usage of oil in the region will fall faster than offshore production, said investment bank OCBC.

Kevin Kingsbury

contributed to this article.

Write to Riva Gold at riva.gold@wsj.com and Lucy Craymer at Lucy.Craymer@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 25, 2017 05:49 ET (09:49 GMT)