HK stocks set for greatest weekly performance in 4 months

Yen at 2 month high up on increasing bets on rate hikes this year

Gold steady near record peak, oil set for 3rd weekly drop

By Ankur Banerjee

SINGAPORE, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Global stocks meandered on Friday ahead of key U.S. payrolls information as investors considered prospects that a broader trade war might be averted, while the yen hit its greatest in nearly two months on rising odds of more rate walkings in Japan this year.

In a week that began with U.S. President Donald Trump starting a trade war, investors have been reluctant in making significant moves as threatened tasks on China were carried out.

Beijing’s measured tit-for-tat reaction has left room for negotiations, analysts say, which has actually enabled traders to concentrate on the AI theme in China in the wake of home-grown start-up DeepSeek’s development.

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 business revenues.

European stocks have staged their finest efficiency in a years against Wall Street in the very 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 reduced 0.21%.

Futures for Nasdaq and S&P 500 were down about 0.2% as shares of Amazon insinuated prolonged trading overnight on weakness in the retailer’s cloud computing system and soft forecast.

In Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index struck a three-month high, poised for a 4% rise in the week, its greatest weekly efficiency sustained 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 given that mid-December.

“Whilst there is substantial noise and uncertainty, we wear ´ t see escalating trade stress as a game changer in the potential customers for the Chinese market,” said James Cook, financial investment director for emerging markets at Federated Hermes.

“China’s bigger problem is not Trump however the domestic economy.”

On the financial front, unemployed claims, layoffs and labour costs/productivity supplied a beginning to Friday’s acutely awaited January work report, with the data likely to reveal the effect of wild fires in California and cold weather across much of the nation.

Nonfarm payrolls are expected to have actually increased by 170,000 jobs last month after rising 256,000 in December, a Reuters poll of economists showed.

“Markets might deal with some volatility around the data if it beats expectations, however it won’t change the course of the FOMC policy as more data will be required,” said Anderson Alves, a trader with ActivTrades.

Markets are pricing in 43 basis points of easing this year from the Fed with a rate cut in July totally priced in as policymakers remain in no hurry to begin the rate-cutting cycle again.

While political uncertainties kept financiers careful, worries have actually eased that Trump’s method to tariffs might into a global trade war.

RISING YEN

The Japanese yen has been on a tear this week buoyed by safe-haven circulations along with rising expectations of the Bank of Japan increasing interest rates this year, with market value in 34 basis points of hikes for the year.

The yen touched 150.96 per dollar in early trading, its strongest level considering that December 10 however was last a little bit weaker at 151.71. The currency is headed for an over 2% increase against the dollar today, its strongest weekly performance because 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 however warned it would be cautious moving forward, in the face of a prospective inflation uptick and geopolitical concerns.

Oil prices rose marginally on Friday however were on track for a 3rd straight week of decrease.

Gold prices steadied on Friday near record-high levels and asteroidsathome.net were headed for asteroidsathome.net their sixth successive weekly gain driven by safe-haven flows.

(Reporting by Ankur Banerjee