The Group of Seven advanced economies smoothed over U.S.-European differences at a weekend meeting on how to balance deep austerity measures with ways to support fragile growth.

The role of central banks in shoring up the global economic recovery is set to be a key point of discussion among top financial officials from the world's seven leading economies when they gather in the UK this weekend.

Asian markets were mostly up on Friday with Japanese stocks jumping to their highest level in more than five years after the dollar surged above the 100-yen mark and U.S. jobs data boosted sentiment.

The U.S. dollar surged in Asian trade on Friday after topping the 100-yen level for the first time in four years, but analysts warned that the Japanese unit's sharp drop was a double-edged sword.

Crude prices were lower in Asian trade Friday on a rise in U.S. stockpiles, with the strong dollar also putting pressure on prices, analysts said.

The gains posted earlier this week on the Taiwan market were capped Thursday as the broader market encountered stiff technical resistance ahead of 8,300 points, dealers said.

McDonald's says a key sales figure slipped again in April, with the world's biggest hamburger chain citing fears over a new strain of avian flu for weakness in China.

Coca-Cola says it will work to make lower-calorie drinks and clear nutrition information more widely available around the world.

Asian stocks were mostly lower on Thursday as dealers took profits after recent impressive gains, but higher than expected inflation figures out of China had little effect on the markets.

The yen was firmer against the dollar in Asia on Thursday with few fresh market leads ahead of the Group of Seven meeting of finance chiefs starting Friday.