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HK stocks set for greatest weekly performance in 4 months

Yen at 2 month high on increasing bets on rate walkings this year

Gold stable near record peak, lovewiki.faith 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 thought about prospects that a wider trade war might be prevented, while the yen struck its greatest in almost 2 months on increasing chances of more rate walkings in Japan this year.

In a week that began with U.S. President Donald Trump beginning a trade war, financiers have been hesitant in making major relocations as threatened duties on China were implemented.

Beijing's measured tit-for-tat action has left space for forum.batman.gainedge.org negotiations, analysts say, which has permitted traders to focus on the AI theme in China in the wake of home-grown start-up DeepSeek's advancement.

European futures indicated a subdued open after the pan-European STOXX 600 index closed at a record high on Thursday on the back of robust company profits.

European stocks have actually staged their finest efficiency in a decade against Wall Street in the very first 6 weeks of 2025, however 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 relieved 0.21%.

Futures for Nasdaq and S&P 500 were down about 0.2% as shares of Amazon slipped in extended trading over night on weakness in the retailer's cloud computing system and soft projection.

In Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index struck a three-month high, wiki.whenparked.com poised for a 4% rise in the week, its strongest weekly efficiency sustained by DeepSeek-led AI bets.

China's blue-chip stock index was 0.4% greater after touching a one-month high leaving MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan at its highest because mid-December.

"Whilst there is considerable noise and uncertainty, we don ´ t see intensifying trade tensions as a game changer in the potential customers for the Chinese market," said James Cook, investment director for emerging markets at Federated Hermes.

"China's bigger problem is not Trump but the domestic economy."

On the economic front, jobless claims, layoffs and labour costs/productivity offered a beginning to Friday's keenly awaited January employment report, pipewiki.org with the data likely to reveal the effect of wild fires in California and cold weather condition throughout much of the nation.

Nonfarm payrolls are anticipated to have increased by 170,000 tasks last month after rising 256,000 in December, a Reuters poll of financial experts showed.

"Markets might face some volatility around the data if it beats expectations, however it will not alter the path of the FOMC policy as more information will be needed," said Anderson Alves, bybio.co a trader with ActivTrades.

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

While political uncertainties kept financiers wary, fears have actually eased that Trump's technique to tariffs might intensify into a global trade war.

RISING YEN

The Japanese yen has actually been on a tear this week buoyed by safe-haven flows along with increasing 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 greatest level because December 10 but was last a little weaker at 151.71. The currency is headed for kenpoguy.com an over 2% rise against the dollar today, its strongest weekly since late November.

Sterling was 0.1% lower at $1.24255 after dropping 0.5% on Thursday as the BoE cut rate of interest by 25 basis points but warned it would beware moving forward, in the face of a possible inflation uptick and geopolitical worries.

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

Gold costs steadied on Friday near record-high levels and were headed for their sixth succeeding weekly gain driven by safe-haven circulations.

(Reporting by Ankur Banerjee; extra reporting by Stephen Culp, Marc Jones and classifieds.ocala-news.com Alun John; editing by Shri Navaratnam and Sam Holmes)