Summary

• The ASX was last up 0.5% and is ahead by about 2% for the week. Tech, health, and consumer discretionaries are strong, as are gold stocks
• NAB's third quarter unaudited cash earnings slipped 7% to $1.55b, hurt by higher charges for bad loans. Shares in the bank were last up 0.6%
• Mesoblast shares jumped more than 50% at the open after it won US regulatory approval for its remestemcel-L product
• Markets were mixed across Asia after underwhelming Chinese data. US futures are up 0.2%