Asian Stocks and Gold Hit Records, BOJ Stands Pat: Markets Wrap
(Bloomberg) — Asian stocks climbed to a record and the dollar held its losses as global investors favored non-US assets amid policy unpredictability and geopolitical risks. Precious metals also set new all-time highs.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 0.4% and a gauge of emerging market stocks also hit a record high. Equity-index futures did point to gains for US benchmarks, though of a smaller magnitude than in Asia. Japanese equities rose and the yen weakened as the Bank of Japan kept its policy rate unchanged at 0.75% as expected.
Currencies were in focus as China’s central bank set the yuan’s daily reference rate stronger than the closely watched 7-per-dollar level for the first time since 2023. The dollar held its losses after falling the most in a month. The weak US currency fueled gains in precious metals with gold, silver and platinum all climbing to all-time highs.
The moves pointed to a gradual unwinding of dollar exposure in favor of regional equities, drawn by more attractive valuations and stronger growth prospects. The shift comes against a backdrop of rising policy uncertainty, including challenges to the Federal Reserve’s independence, and renewed tariff concerns tied to tensions between the US and Europe.
“The Asian region is far from the geopolitical considerations involving the US, the EU and Latin America,” said Mabrouk Chetouane, global head of market strategies at Natixis IM Solutions. “This distance acts as a kind of shield” and allows investors to diversify exposure to “risky assets,” he said.
Signs are growing that market participants are pulling back from US assets. Investors are pouring cash into emerging-market funds at a record pace as momentum builds for a rotation out of US assets, weakening the dollar.
India’s holdings of US Treasuries have fallen to a five-year low as the nation pushes to support its currency and diversify its reserves, joining a broader shift by some major economies out of the world’s biggest bond market.
Emerging-market assets have broadly rallied amid rising risk appetite. Cheaper valuations and strong economic growth are also in Asia’s favor.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index is up 5.5% so far this year, compared with a 1% advance for the S&P 500 Index. Even so, the Asian gauge is trading around a forward price-to-earnings multiple of 15 times, compared with about 22 times for the US benchmark.
Elsewhere, Japanese bond futures fell, with the BOJ raising its inflation outlook. Investors will be paying close attention to the language Governor Kazuo Ueda will use regarding inflation, Amundi’s Japan Head of equity investment Hiromi Ishihara said in a Bloomberg TV interview.
Also in Japan, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi dissolved the lower chamber of parliament on Friday to call a snap election for Feb. 8.
In the commodities market, the Bloomberg Commodity Spot Index — a broad measure of raw materials, including oil, metals and farm products — has advanced by 3.6% this week. That’s the best weekly performance in about a year, and has lifted the gauge to the highest level since mid-2022.
Investors will be keeping tabs on PMI data in the US later on Friday for fresh clues on the health of the world’s largest economy. Traders are also paying attention to leadership changes at the Fed as President Donald Trump said he will soon reveal a successor to Chair Jerome Powell.
Back to stocks, the rebound in global equities from a slump earlier in the week underscored how markets remained highly sensitive to shifts in geopolitical tone. Tensions eased after Trump abandoned his threats to impose tariffs on European countries opposed to his plans to acquire Greenland.
“The recent Greenland episode further strained US-EU relations and cast even more doubt on the reliability of the United States as an economic and security partner,” said Sarah Bianchi of Evercore ISI, in a note Thursday. “There is a continued gradual diversification away from dollar reserve assets to other currencies and especially gold.”
Corporate Highlights:
Intel Corp. gave a lackluster forecast for the current quarter because supply shortages are making it harder to meet customer demand, a disappointment for investors who anticipated more of a boost from new products. President Trump sued JPMorgan Chase & Co. and its chief executive officer, Jamie Dimon, for at least $5 billion over allegations that the lender stopped offering him and his businesses banking services for political reasons. Capital One Financial Corp. agreed to acquire Brex, a financial-technology company that focuses on corporate expense management and accounting, for $5.15 billion. Abbott Laboratories said first-quarter profit will be lower than Wall Street expected after the company was forced to offer discounts on nutrition products to lure price-conscious customers, sending shares plunging. Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
S&P 500 futures rose 0.2% as of 2:19 p.m. Tokyo time Japan’s Topix rose 0.3% Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.1% Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.5% The Shanghai Composite rose 0.4% Euro Stoxx 50 futures fell 0.2% Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed The euro was little changed at $1.1752 The Japanese yen was little changed at 158.49 per dollar The offshore yuan was little changed at 6.9579 per dollar Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin rose 0.6% to $89,732.46 Ether rose 1% to $2,972.2 Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 4.24% Japan’s 10-year yield advanced 1.5 basis points to 2.250% Australia’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to 4.81% Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.7% to $59.78 a barrel Spot gold rose 0.4% to $4,957.51 an ounce This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Ruth Carson, Tatiana Darie and Abhishek Vishnoi.
©2026 Bloomberg L.P.
