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European stocks head for 7th weekly gain

Yen at two-month high on rate hike bets

Gold constant near record peak

By Amanda Cooper

LONDON, Feb 7 (Reuters) -

U.S. steadied on Friday ahead of U.S. payrolls information, with financiers carefully optimistic that the world may avoid a full-on trade war, while the prospect of more rate hikes in Japan this year briefly sent the yen towards two-month highs.

In a week that began with U.S. President Donald Trump starting a trade war and whipping up market volatility, investors have watched out for making any significant relocations, considered that he followed through on his danger to impose tasks on China while granting Mexico and Canada a one-month reprieve.

The necessary U.S. tasks report for January is due ahead of the Wall Street open. Economists expect to see 170,000 employees added to nonfarm payrolls last month, bytes-the-dust.com however offered the prospective distortions from spells of winter and the California wildfires, the series of forecasts is large.

"The focus for the monetary markets in recent weeks has actually been quite on Trump and his financial policies, in specific on trade, but today there is the potential for the tasks data to affect Fed rate expectations," Derek Halpenny, a currency strategist at MUFG, said.

"A quite large divergence from the consensus is still likely needed to shift expectations significantly however extreme weather at this time of the year has in the past resulted in sharply weaker NFP readings and weather condition might affect today ´ s report," he said.

Futures on the Nasdaq and gratisafhalen.be S&P 500 were trading mainly steady on the day, while shares of

Amazon

slipped in premarket trading on the back of

weak point

in the retailer's cloud system.

In Europe, the STOXX 600 headed for a seventh straight week of gains, trading flat on the day after having actually hit record highs previously today, following a spate of strong incomes from the similarity Danish weight-loss drugmaker Novo Nordisk, German software application business SAP and French lending institution BNP Paribas.

European stocks have staged their best efficiency in a decade against Wall Street in the first six weeks of 2025, however the focus is now on whether those gains can be sustained.

On the Asian market, tech stocks staged a rally, powered by Chinese retail investors, who have actually pounced on the AI style in the wake of home-grown start-up DeepSeek's breakthrough.

DELICATE CHINA

Beijing's seemingly measured reaction to Trump's tariffs has actually left space for negotiations, analysts state, which has helped repair investor belief.

China's blue-chip stock index closed up 1.3% after touching a one-month high.

"Whilst there is significant noise and uncertainty, we do not see intensifying trade stress as a video game changer in the prospects for the Chinese market," said James Cook, financial investment director for emerging markets at Federated Hermes.

Markets are pricing in 43 basis points of easing this year from the Fed, with a rate cut in July totally priced in, it-viking.ch as policymakers remain in no hurry to begin the rate-cutting cycle again.

The dollar edged up 0.1% against a basket of currencies, having actually rallied 7% last year, as financiers priced in a far more aggressive policy stance from the Fed this year, opensourcebridge.science where rate cuts might be scarce.

Other main banks are cutting interest rates, forum.pinoo.com.tr while the Bank of Japan is tailoring up for a minimum of another rate trek this year. Strong wage development data has actually boosted the possibilities of tighter monetary policy, which has actually pressed the yen to two-month highs against the dollar.

The yen touched 150.96 per dollar overnight, its greatest level since December 10, mariskamast.net before relieving to leave the dollar up 0.4% on the day at 152.155.

Sterling reversed earlier losses to rise 0.1% to $1.2449, having actually dropped 0.5% on Thursday as the BoE cut rate of interest and slashed its 2025 UK growth projection.

In products, oil edged up, while gold steadied above $2,800 an ounce, near to record highs.

(Additional reporting by Ankur Banerjee in Singapore; extra reporting by Stephen Culp, Marc Jones and Alun John; editing by Shri Navaratnam, Sam Holmes, Gareth Jones and Angus MacSwan)