Singapore index futures rose 1 percent early on Friday, indicating a strong start for the benchmark Straits Times Index .

Asian shares rose on Friday on better-than-expected demand for Italian sovereign debt, shrugging off a rocket launch by North Korea before the market open that South Korean officials said had failed.

0850 (0050 GMT)

(Reporting by Eveline Danubrata in Singapore; eveline.danubrata@thomsonreuters.com)