Defense stocks across Asia experienced significant gains on Friday, driven by heightened geopolitical tensions following the U.S. military operation that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Additionally, President Donald Trump’s renewed interest in acquiring Greenland has kept investors on alert.

In South Korea, Hanwha Aerospace shares soared over 11%, while Poongsan saw a rise of more than 6%, and Korea Aerospace climbed 4.9%. Meanwhile, in Japan, Kawasaki Heavy Industries’ stock increased by 3.17%, and IHI Corporation added 3.32% to its value.

Overall, markets in the region presented a mixed performance.

China’s CSI 300 index edged up by 0.45%, closing at 4,758.92. This uptick followed a report from the National Bureau of Statistics revealing that December’s consumer prices increased by 0.8% compared to the previous year, aligning with economists’ expectations from a Reuters poll. This was slightly higher than November’s 0.7% rise. Additionally, the country’s factory-gate prices fell by 1.9% in December, which was a slight improvement over the anticipated 2% decline.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.32%.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 1.61% to end the trading day at 51,939.89, while the Topix climbed 0.85% to 3,514.11.

Shares of Fast Retailing popped more than 7% after the Japanese operator of Uniqlo said quarterly operating profit jumped about one-third and it raised its full-year forecast.

The company cited strong global sales that helped offset the impact of U.S. tariffs, adding it remained on track for a fifth straight year of profit growth, supported by stronger sales in China and rapid expansion in North America and Europe.

South Korea’s Kospi added 0.75% to end the trading day at 4,586.32, and the small-cap Kosdaq rose 0.41% to 947.92.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 ticked slightly below the flatline to 8,717.8. Shares of Rio Tinto slid over 6% after the miner announced late Thursday it had entered early-stage buyout talks with Glencore. A successful merger would create a mining giant valued at nearly $207 billion.

U.S. equity futures were little changed in early Asian hours ahead of a key December jobs report and a potential U.S. Supreme Court ruling on tariffs. The Supreme Court could issue a ruling on the legality of President Donald Trump’s tariffs, which could have an impact on trade policy and the nation’s fiscal situation.

Overnight in the U.S., the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose while the Nasdaq Composite came under pressure as investors moved away from technology stocks.

The 30-stock Dow climbed 270.03 points, or 0.55%, and ended at 49,266.11. The tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped 0.44% and settled at 23,480.02. The S&P 500 advanced 0.01% and closed at 6,921.46. Among the 11 S&P 500 sectors, information technology was the laggard, falling more than 1%.

— CNBC’s Pia Singh and Sean Conlon contributed to this report.