Global stocks show caution, yen hits two-month high amid trade war threats
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Global stocks showed little movement on Friday as investors awaited key U.S. payrolls data, while also weighing the possibility of averting a broader trade war.
The Japanese yen hit its highest level in nearly two months, driven by growing expectations of further rate hikes in Japan this year, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
In a week that started with U.S. President Donald Trump kicking off a trade war, investors have been hesitant in making major moves as threatened duties on China were implemented.
Beijing's measured tit-for-tat response has left room for negotiations, analysts say, and that has allowed traders to focus on the AI theme in China in the wake of home-grown start-up DeepSeek's breakthrough.
European futures pointed to a subdued open after the pan-European STOXX 600 index closed at a record high on Thursday on the back of robust company earnings.
European stocks have staged their best performance in a decade against Wall Street in the first six weeks of 2025, but focus is now on whether those gains can be sustained.
Eurostoxx 50 futures were down 0.41%, while FTSE futures fell 0.39%.
DAX futures eased 0.21%.
Futures for Nasdaq and S&P 500 were down about 0.2% as shares of Amazon slipped in extended trading overnight on weakness in the retailer's cloud computing unit and soft forecast. In Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index hit a three-month high, poised for a 4% rise in the week, its strongest weekly performance fuelled by DeepSeek-led AI bets.
China's blue-chip stock index was 0.4% higher after touching a one-month high leaving MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan at its highest since mid-December.
The Japanese yen has been on a tear this week buoyed by safe-haven flows as well as rising expectations of the Bank of Japan increasing interest rates this year, with markets pricing in 34 basis points of hikes for the year.
The yen touched 150.96 per dollar in early trading, its strongest level since December 10 but was last a tad weaker at 151.71. The currency is headed for an over 2% rise against the dollar this week, its strongest weekly performance since late November.
Sterling was 0.1% lower at $1.24255 after dropping 0.5% on Thursday as the BoE cut interest rates by 25 basis points but warned it would be cautious going forward, in the face of a potential inflation uptick and geopolitical worries.
Oil prices rose marginally on Friday but were on track for a third straight week of decline.
Gold prices steadied on Friday near record-high levels and were headed for their sixth successive weekly gain driven by safe-haven flows.
Gold prices steadied on Friday near record-high levels and were headed for their sixth successive weekly gain driven by safe-haven flows.
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