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HK stocks set for greatest weekly efficiency in 4 months

Yen at two month high up on rising bets on rate hikes this year

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

By Ankur Banerjee

SINGAPORE, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Global stocks meandered on Friday ahead of crucial U.S. payrolls data as investors thought about prospects that a more comprehensive trade war could be averted, while the yen struck its highest in almost 2 months on increasing chances of more rate hikes in Japan this year.

In a week that started with U.S. President Donald Trump kicking off a trade war, financiers have actually been reluctant in making significant moves as threatened responsibilities on China were implemented.

Beijing's determined tit-for-tat response has left space for settlements, experts state, and bphomesteading.com that has allowed traders to focus on the AI style in China in the wake of home-grown start-up DeepSeek's .

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 staged their best efficiency in a years against Wall Street in the first six weeks of 2025, wikitravel.org 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 eased 0.21%.

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

In Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index hit a three-month high, poised for a 4% increase in the week, 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 greatest because mid-December.

"Whilst there is significant sound and uncertainty, we wear ´ t see intensifying trade stress as a game changer in the prospects for the Chinese market," said James Cook, financial investment director for emerging markets at Federated Hermes.

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

On the financial front, jobless claims, layoffs and labour costs/productivity supplied a beginning to Friday's acutely awaited January work report, with the information most likely to reveal the impact of wild fires in California and orcz.com winter 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 revealed.

"Markets might deal with some volatility around the information if it beats expectations, however it will not alter 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 completely priced in as policymakers remain in no hurry to start the rate-cutting cycle again.

While political uncertainties kept investors cautious, fears have alleviated 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 circulations as well as increasing expectations of the Bank of Japan increasing rates of interest 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 considering that December 10 however was last a little weaker at 151.71. The currency is headed for photorum.eclat-mauve.fr an over 2% increase against the dollar this week, its greatest weekly performance 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 however warned it would beware moving forward, in the face of a potential inflation uptick and geopolitical concerns.

Oil rates increased partially 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 6th succeeding weekly gain driven by safe-haven circulations.

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