South Korean equities led emerging Asian stocks higher on Friday, with muted trading volumes across major markets due to public holidays, while investors kept a close eye on developments in the Middle East conflict.

The MSCI gauge of EM Asia equities rose about 0.7%, though heading for a fifth straight week of declines. South Korea's KOSPI index jumped nearly 3% on Friday, recovering partly from the more than 4% drop in the previous session.