Asian shares firm, sterling jumps on UK exit polls

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS was little changed while Japan's Nikkei .N225 ticked up 0.2 percent from one-month low hit on Thursday.

Investors breathed a sigh of relief after the global bond market rout since late April appeared to have run its course for now.

Buying of government bonds resumed after yields reached key levels, including 0.8 percent in German Bunds DE10YT=RR, 1 percent in French bonds FR10YT=RR and 2 percent for Italian and Spanish bonds. IT10YT=RR ES10YT=RR.

Europe has been the epicenter of a rout as investors rushed to exit crowded long bond positions built up after the European Central Bank had started quantitative easing in March.

"Yields have risen to levels that would attract investors," said Chotaro Motira, head of Japan rates strategy at SMBC Nikko Securities.

The yield on U.S. Treasuries US10YT=RR, the benchmark for borrowing costs globally, also ended an eight-session rise, helping to underpin Wall Street and global equity prices.

In addition, strong quarterly results from Alibaba (BABA.K) as well as speculation that consumer review website Yelp.com could be for sale drove technology stocks higher.

S&P 500 Index .SPX rose 0.38 percent, with the S&P tech index .SPLRCT up 0.87 percent.

Many investors now look to the U.S. employment report due later on Friday, with traders expecting nonfarm payrolls to recover to gains of 224,000 in April from a shockingly low 126,000 in March.

Another weak reading could deepen worries that the U.S. economy may not be gathering momentum.

In the currency market, the British pound jumped about one percent to $1.5390 GBP=D4 after exit surveys showed Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservatives may continue to govern Britain.

The polls gave the Conservatives 316 of 650 seats in the lower house of parliament, still short of a majority but far better than expected.

The party was seen winning more seats than previous polls had indicated, although it remained shy of securing an outright majority. The opposition Labour party was seen at 239 seats, less than previously expected.

The euro sagged to $1.1251 EUR= from a three-month high of $1.1392 hit on Thursday, on a fall in European bond yields and concerns about Greece's precarious financing situation.

Greece defied its international creditors on Thursday, refusing to cut pensions or reverse re-hiring some public employees to meet their demands, dimming prospects of progress next week towards securing financial aid.

(Additional reporting by Naomi Tajitsu in Wellington; Editing by Eric Meijer)