Asian stocks eked out modest gains on Friday as weak U.S. labor market data reinforced expectations of a Federal Reserve rate cut later this month and U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order officially putting into action the U.S.-Japan trade agreement.

Regional gains, however, remained capped due to caution ahead of key U.S. jobs data due later in the day and amid concerns over Trump's heavy use of tariffs.

Trump said Thursday the United States will soon put a fairly substantial tariff on semiconductors coming into the country, after previously threatening a 100-percent levy on the chips.

Chinese shares rebounded after falling by the most in five months on Thursday following reports that the country's financial regulators are considering a number of cooling measures for the stock market.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite index rallied 1.24 percent to 3,812.51 on hopes that Beijing can keep stock prices rising while avoiding speculative bubbles. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index surged 1.43 percent to 25,417.98.

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