Asian equities mostly rose Thursday as investors built on this week’s rally after US data ramped up expectations for a string of interest rate cuts.

Markets have enjoyed a healthy run in recent months — with some hitting record highs — on growth optimism that the Federal Reserve will resume its monetary easing process as figures indicate the world’s top economy is slowing.

Those bets ramped up Friday on a report showing jobs creation was well below forecasts, while another this week revealed there were more than 900,000 fewer new posts than thought in the 12 months through March.

And on Wednesday, the Department of Labor said the producer price index (PPI) fell on-month in August for the first time since April, confounding forecasts for a rise. July’s figure was also revised down.

The

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