Asian stock markets, along with U.S. futures, showed modest gains on Friday as they continued to recover from recent volatility. This positive trend followed a week marked by significant fluctuations.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index saw a slight increase of 0.2%, closing at 53,800.28. This uptick came after the Bank of Japan decided to maintain its key interest rate, aligning with expectations. In December, the central bank had raised the policy rate to 0.75%. Concluding its policy meeting, the bank made a slight upward revision to its forecasts for inflation and economic growth.
The Japanese yen experienced a decrease in value against the U.S. dollar, which rose to 158.64 yen from 158.42 yen.
Commenting on the situation, Abhijit Surya from Capital Economics noted, “With underlying inflation pressures remaining strong, we anticipate that the Bank of Japan will resume its tightening cycle in the coming months.”
Chinese markets also recorded moderate advances. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gained 0.3%, reaching 26,718.13, while the Shanghai Composite index similarly increased by 0.3%, ending at 4,133.58.
In South Korea, the Kospi index rose by 0.6% to settle at 4,983.36. The index had briefly surpassed the 5,000 mark for the first time on Thursday before retreating later in the day.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 edged 0.2% higher to 8,862.20.
Taiwan’s Taiex jumped 0.8% and the Sensex in India was nearly unchanged.
On Thursday, the S&P 500 climbed 0.5% to 6,913.35, extending its rally after U.S. President Donald Trump called off tariffs on European countries that he said opposed his calls for U.S. control of Greenland.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6% to 49,384.01, and the Nasdaq composite gained 0.9% to 23,436.02.
Details were sparse about a deal on Greenland that Trump said he reached with the head of NATO, leaving investors wary of what’s to come. It’s not signed yet.
It was the latest example of Trump making a big, initial threat, only to pull back after a dramatic reaction in financial markets. The pattern has led to the “TACO” acronym, suggesting that “Trump Always Chickens Out” if markets react strongly enough. Tuesday’s drop for the U.S. stock market was the worst since October and large enough that Trump, who often takes credit when Wall Street is doing well, acknowledged “the dip.”
JPMorgan Chase rose 0.5% after a lawsuit filed by Trump against the bank caused minor ripples for its stock. Trump accused JPMorgan Chase of closing his accounts for political reasons after he left office in 2021.
Treasury yields held relatively steady, suggesting foreign investors weren’t rushing out of the U.S. bond market.
Yields got some support from reports on the U.S. economy’s strength that came in better than expected. One said fewer U.S. workers applied for unemployment benefits last week than economists expected in a potential signal that the pace of layoffs remains low. A second suggested the U.S. economy grew at a faster rate during the summer than the government initially estimated.
A third said that inflation in November was close to economists’ expectations, while spending by U.S. consumers was a touch better than expected.
Global markets have calmed following an easing of long-term Japanese government bonds, which had spiked early in the week on worries that Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi might make moves that would add heavily to the government’s already big debt.
The 40-year Japanese government bond yield slipped back after hitting a record of more than 4%. It was trading at 3.0955% early Friday.
In other dealings early Friday, the price of gold rose 0.8%, remaining close to the $5,000 level. Silver gained 2.3%. Prices of such precious metals often rise when investors are looking for something safer to own.
U.S. benchmark crude oil added 52 cents to $59.88 per barrel, while Brent crude, the international standard, was up 54 cents at $64.60 per barrel.
The euro slipped to $1.1750 from $1.1755.
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AP Business Writers Stan Choe, Matt Ott and Yuri Kageyama contributed.
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