by\u00a0Andre Janse van Vuuren<\/p>\n
US stocks are set for a quieter finish to a busy week in which the Federal Reserve\u2019s first step in a likely series of rapid interest rate cuts propelled markets to fresh records.<\/p>\n
Futures for major US stock benchmarks were little changed after the S&P 500, the Nasdaq 100, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Russell 2000 closed at all-time highs. US Treasuries saw stronger shifts, with the 10-year yield rising two basis points to 4.12%. The dollar was on course for its longest streak of gains since July.<\/p>\n
Looser policy is giving equity bulls a tailwind just as lofty valuations run up against bearish seasonal trends. Investors see plenty to keep equities climbing after a stellar rally, with upbeat earnings and a resilient economy driving momentum.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s clear the Fed is willing to support growth and the jobs markets, versus caring too much about inflation, though we have to see how that translates into the economy,\u201d said Andrea Gabellone, head of global equities at KBC Global Services. \u201cFinancial conditions are now easier.\u201d<\/p>\n
For US stocks, not even Friday\u2019s $5 trillion quarterly\u00a0triple-witching\u00a0options expiry is likely to drive volatility, with traders focusing rather on the next nonfarm payrolls report for bigger moves.<\/p>\n
Asian equities fell after the Bank of Japan said it will begin selling its massive exchange-traded fund holdings. The central bank also kept its policy rate at 0.5%, as expected.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The yen climbed as much as 0.5% after two dissenters opposed the decision to hold, but gave up the gain when Governor Kazuo Ueda said he needs more data before deciding next steps, seemingly downplaying the chance of an October hike.<\/p>\n
Investors will also be focusing on a\u00a0phone call\u00a0between President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping later Friday.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The conversation promises to determine the fate of TikTok \u2014 and potentially ease trade tensions between the world\u2019s two biggest economies. US\u00a0grain futures\u00a0rose across the board on Friday ahead of the call.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cA deal for the social media app might act as a catalyst for improving the relationship between the two largest economies amid an ongoing trade war,\u201d Danske Bank strategists wrote.<\/p>\n
\n\tEarly sales\u00a0across Asia showed strong demand for Apple Inc.\u2019s iPhone 17 Pro models.
\n\tJefferies Financial\u00a0Group Inc. has approved a proposal by Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. to raise its ownership as their partnership deepens, a person with knowledge of the matter said.
\n\tAdani Enterprises\u00a0Ltd.\u2019s shares gained as much as 5.2% after India\u2019s securities market regulator cleared the group\u2019s billionaire-founder Gautam Adani of some allegations of impropriety raised by the US short seller Hindenburg Research in early 2023.
\n\tZijin Gold\u00a0International Co. is seeking to raise HK$25 billion ($3.2 billion) for an initial public offering in Hong Kong that\u2019s poised to be the world\u2019s biggest deal of its kind since May.
<\/p>\n
Some of the main moves in markets:<\/p>\n
\n\tThe Stoxx Europe 600 was little changed as of 10:09 a.m. London time
\n\tS&P 500 futures were little changed
\n\tNasdaq 100 futures were little changed
\n\tFutures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were little changed
\n\tThe MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.3%
\n\tThe MSCI Emerging Markets Index fell 0.4%
<\/p>\n
Currencies<\/p>\n
\n\tThe Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.1%
\n\tThe euro fell 0.2% to $1.1766
\n\tThe Japanese yen rose 0.1% to 147.82 per dollar
\n\tThe offshore yuan was little changed at 7.1134 per dollar
\n\tThe British pound fell 0.4% to $1.3501
<\/p>\n
Cryptocurrencies<\/p>\n
\n\tBitcoin fell 0.5% to $116,980.45
\n\tEther fell 1.4% to $4,541.24
<\/p>\n
Bonds<\/p>\n
\n\tThe yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced two basis points to 4.12%
\n\tGermany\u2019s 10-year yield advanced one basis point to 2.74%
\n\tBritain\u2019s 10-year yield advanced one basis point to 4.69%
<\/p>\n
Commodities<\/p>\n
\n\tBrent crude fell 0.6% to $67.03 a barrel
\n\tSpot gold rose 0.3% to $3,656.92 an ounce
<\/p>\n
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"by\u00a0Andre Janse van Vuuren US stocks are set for a quieter finish to a busy week in which…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":167573,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[28,112],"class_list":["post-167572","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-markets","tag-business","tag-markets"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/167572","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=167572"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/167572\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/167573"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=167572"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=167572"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=167572"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}