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HK stocks set for strongest weekly performance in 4 months

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

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

By Ankur Banerjee

SINGAPORE, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Global stocks meandered on Friday ahead of essential U.S. payrolls data as investors thought about prospects that a more comprehensive trade war could be prevented, while the yen hit its greatest in nearly two months on increasing chances of more rate hikes in Japan this year.

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

Beijing's measured tit-for-tat response has actually left space for negotiations, experts say, and that has permitted traders to concentrate on the AI theme in China in the wake of home-grown start-up DeepSeek's breakthrough.

European futures pointed to a suppressed open after the pan-European STOXX 600 index closed at a record high on Thursday on the back of robust business profits.

European stocks have staged their best 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 alleviated 0.21%.

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

In Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index struck a three-month high, poised for a 4% increase in the week, wiki.snooze-hotelsoftware.de its strongest weekly performance 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 considerable noise and uncertainty, we wear ´ t see intensifying trade tensions as a video game changer in the prospects for the Chinese market," said James Cook, investment director for emerging markets at Federated Hermes.

"China's larger problem is not Trump however the domestic economy."

On the economic front, unemployed claims, layoffs and oke.zone labour costs/productivity offered a prologue to Friday's keenly awaited January employment report, with the information most likely to show the effect of wild fires in California and winter across much of the nation.

Nonfarm payrolls are anticipated to have actually increased by 170,000 jobs last month after rising 256,000 in December, it-viking.ch a Reuters survey of financial experts showed.

"Markets might deal with some volatility around the data if it beats expectations, but it won't change the path 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 alleviating this year from the Fed with a rate cut in July totally priced in as policymakers remain in no rush to begin the rate-cutting cycle again.

While political uncertainties kept financiers wary, wiki.eqoarevival.com fears have relieved that Trump's method to tariffs might escalate into a global trade war.

RISING YEN

The Japanese yen has actually been on a tear today buoyed by safe-haven flows as well as increasing expectations of the Bank of 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 since December 10 however was last a tad weaker at 151.71. The currency is headed for an over 2% increase against the dollar this week, its greatest weekly efficiency because 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 alerted it would beware going forward, in the face of a prospective inflation uptick and geopolitical concerns.

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

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

(Reporting by Ankur Banerjee; extra reporting by Stephen Culp, Marc Jones and Alun John; modifying by Shri Navaratnam and Sam Holmes)