The Paris stock market rallied Friday as President Emmanuel Macron sought a way out of France's political crisis.

Chinese indices ended the week with solid gains as China's economy shows signs of recovery but Seoul retreated as South Korea battles its own leadership upheaval.

The dollar firmed ahead of key US jobs data Friday likely to provide further clues on the pace of interest-rate cuts in the world's biggest economy.

Oil prices declined and bitcoin fell back under $100,000.

The Paris stock market jumped 1.3 percent in midday deals, strongly outperforming London and Frankfurt on "hope that President Emmanuel Macron will serve out his term and that a (French) budget can be passed in the coming weeks", noted Derren Nathan, head of equity research at Hargreaves Lansdown.

The luxury sector benefitted also from hopes of a pickup in Chinese demand. Gucci owner Kering topped the Paris CAC 40 as its shares gained more than five percent.

Macron on Friday was holding talks with French political leaders on the left and right as he seeks to name a new prime minister.

He adopted a defiant tone in an address to the nation late Thursday, 24 hours after Michel Barnier's government was ousted in a historic no-confidence vote.

The trigger was Barnier's 2025 budget plan, including austerity measures unacceptable to a majority in parliament, but which were forced through without a vote using special powers.

In Asia, shares in Seoul sank more than one percent and the won weakened to about 1,420 per dollar as lawmakers prepared to hold an impeachment vote Saturday after President Yoon Suk Yeol's dramatic, short-lived martial law this week.

While analysts said the economic fallout from the crisis would likely be limited, the political storm is ongoing.

On Friday the head of Yoon's ruling People Power Party demanded he stand down over the incident, warning he posed a great danger to the country.

Hong Kong and Shanghai rallied as investors grew hopeful of fresh stimulus when top Chinese leaders including President Xi Jinping meet to discuss economic policy next week.

That gathering follows recent data that gave a glimmer of optimism that China's near two-year growth slowdown could soon end.

Bitcoin was hovering around $98,000 having blasted to the historic peak of $103,800 Thursday on news that US President-elect Donald Trump had picked crypto proponent Paul Atkins to head the nation's markets regulator.

Trump, who took credit for the bitcoin landmark in an online post, later Thursday named former PayPal chief operating officer David Sacks as White House "AI and Crypto Czar".

The wealthy tech entrepreneur will take on a newly created role advising the Trump administration on cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence.

- Key figures around 1115 GMT -

  • Paris - CAC 40: UP 1.3 percent at 7,423.29 points
  • Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.2 percent at 20,405.82
  • London - FTSE 100: UP 0.1 percent at 8,354.04
  • Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.8 percent at 39,091.17 (close)
  • Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 1.6 percent at 19,865.85 (close)
  • Shanghai - Composite: UP 1.1 percent at 3,404.08 (close)
  • New York - Dow: DOWN 0.6 percent at 44,765.71 (close)
  • Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0581 from $1.0591 on Thursday
  • Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2759 from $1.2760
  • Dollar/yen: UP at 150.56 yen from 150.09 yen
  • Euro/pound: DOWN at 82.94 from 82.97 pence
  • West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.0 percent at $67.62 per barrel
  • Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 1.0 percent at $71.35 per barrel