Japan's yen was jolted out of its slide and the Nikkei dropped 1% on news the Komeito party was quitting its coalition with the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)
SINGAPORE (Reuters) -Asian stocks limped towards the end of the week on a shaky footing on Friday as declines on Wall Street lingered into early trading, while commodity markets took a breather after their recent charge higher. Regional markets remain on track for one of their best years in a decade, firmly outstripping gains for U.S. counterparts as President Donald Trump's package of economic policies and tariffs prompts a surge of orders across the region to meet booming demand for AI-linked technology hardware. The U.S. trading session marked the point where a number of "well-subscribed, high-momentum trades" including gold, silver, crypto, and much of the S&P 500 "finally showed signs of exhaustion," said Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone Group Ltd in Melbourne. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fluctuated between gains and losses, last down 0.2% as its gains for the week hung in the balance, after U.S. stocks ended the previous .
The dollar rose 1.8 per cent to 150.1 yen, its highest since August. If sustained, that would be its biggest daily gain since May 12
Oil prices slipped, after surging over 2 per cent overnight to seven-week peaks as a surprise drop in US crude inventories added to supply worries
Much of the focus last week was on elevated long-end bond yields across the globe as investors fretted about the state of various countries' finances from Britain and France to Japan
Markets have held modest ranges in recent weeks, waiting to see whether the world's two largest economies can agree on a durable trade deal or if global supply chains will again be upended
President Donald Trump kept the world guessing about whether the United States will join Israel's bombardment of Iranian nuclear sites, telling reporters outside the White House on Thursday
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer have both already made it clear they want to discuss currency issues
By blaming the weak yen for accelerating inflation, Onodera could be signalling that Japanese policymakers consider the yen's downtrend, rather than its recent rebound, as the bigger problem
The uptick in safe haven currencies came even with Asian stock markers surging, as they joined the global relief rally
State-owned IREDA on Friday said it has secured a 26 billion Japanese Yen External Commercial Borrowing facility from SBI's Tokyo Branch, including a green shoe option of 10 billion Japanese Yen. This five-year unsecured facility is set to strengthen IREDA's global market presence, the company said in a statement. "IREDA has signed a facility agreement today for raising external Commercial Borrowing (ECB) from SBI, Tokyo Branch for JPY 26 billion, including a green shoe option of JPY 10 billion. "The landed cost (after hedging) is expected to be below 7 per cent, making it more cost-effective than similar-tenure loans in the domestic market," it said. The company's Chairman & Managing Director Pradip Kumar Das said the facility will enable the company to diversify its resource base and optimize costs, enhancing our lending operations to support India's renewable energy sector. The transaction reflects the strong confidence of global investors in IREDA's financial stability and ...
The dollar was weakened by Federal Reserve policymakers discussing slowing or pausing the drawdown of its bloated balance sheet
This has cemented the case for more rate hikes from the Bank of Japan this year. Markets are now pricing in roughly another 37 basis points worth of increases by December
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 Asia
The benchmark S&P 500 was down 1.6 per cent to 6,003.04, dragged down by technology stocks. AI chipmaker Nvidia was down nearly 14 per cent to $123.02
A wide interest rate difference between the US and other economies has cast a shadow over the currency market
Currencies around the world tumbled on Wednesday after the Fed decision boosted the dollar, although many rebounded on Thursday in choppy trading conditions with thin volumes ahead of holiday period
The BOJ cut its core consumer inflation forecast but said risks were skewed to the upside for that year, causing the yen to rise, said Andrea Cicione, head of strategy at GlobalData.TSLombard
Yen hovered close to a three-month low against the dollar, weighed down by political instability after a drubbing for Japan's ruling coalition in parliamentary elections last weekend
The yen has fallen more than 6 per cent in October and is on track for what would be its biggest monthly loss against the greenback since November 2016