Stocks Wobble As Traders Eye United States Payrolls Data Yen At 2-month High

HK stocks set for greatest weekly performance in 4 months


Yen at 2 month high on rising bets on rate hikes 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 key U.S. payrolls data as investors considered prospects that a broader trade war might be avoided, while the yen struck its highest in almost 2 months on increasing odds of more rate walkings in Japan this year.


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


Beijing's measured tit-for-tat action has left space for it-viking.ch settlements, experts say, which has actually allowed traders to concentrate on the AI theme in China in the wake of home-grown start-up DeepSeek's development.


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


European stocks have staged their best performance in a decade against Wall Street in the first six weeks of 2025, 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 reduced 0.21%.


Futures for Nasdaq and S&P 500 were down about 0.2% as shares of Amazon insinuated extended trading overnight on weakness 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, its greatest 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 considering that mid-December.


"Whilst there is substantial noise and uncertainty, we don ´ t see intensifying trade tensions as a video game changer in the potential customers 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 economic front, unemployed claims, layoffs and labour costs/productivity supplied a prologue to Friday's keenly awaited January work report, with the data most likely to reveal the effect of wild fires in California and cold weather condition throughout much of the nation.


Nonfarm payrolls are expected to have increased by 170,000 tasks last month after surging 256,000 in December, a Reuters poll of financial experts revealed.


"Markets might face some volatility around the data if it beats expectations, however it won't alter the course of the FOMC policy as more information will be required," said Anderson Alves, a trader with ActivTrades.


Markets are pricing in 43 basis points of reducing this year from the Fed with a rate cut in July fully priced in as policymakers remain in no rush to start the rate-cutting cycle again.


While political uncertainties kept investors cautious, fears have actually alleviated that Trump's approach to tariffs could intensify into an international trade war.


RISING YEN


The Japanese yen has actually been on a tear today buoyed by safe-haven circulations in addition to of the Bank of Japan increasing rate of interest this year, with market value in 34 basis points of hikes for the year.


The yen touched 150.96 per dollar in early trading, surgiteams.com its greatest 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 today, its strongest weekly performance considering that 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 be careful going forward, in the face of a prospective inflation uptick and geopolitical worries.


Oil prices increased marginally on Friday however were on track for a 3rd straight week of decline.


Gold prices steadied on Friday near record-high levels and were headed for their 6th successive weekly gain driven by safe-haven flows.


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