As of 12:00 Germany time (CEST, UTC+2)
TL;DR: Tech earnings, lower oil and renewed yen intervention risk drove the cross-asset tape into Friday’s European session.
In Asian Equity Markets stocks rebounded on Friday as investors took comfort from resilient U.S. technology earnings and a pullback in oil prices from recent extremes. Regional risk appetite improved after Wall Street closed April with strong monthly gains, with investors looking through the oil shock as corporate earnings continued to support sentiment. Japan’s Nikkei moved higher, while broader Asian trading was helped by relief that Brent crude had eased from its recent four-year high. Still, gains were cautious, with markets remaining sensitive to developments around the Iran conflict, the Strait of Hormuz and the risk that elevated energy prices could keep inflation pressure alive.
In Currency Markets the Japanese yen remained the main focus after Japan’s suspected intervention to support the currency. The dollar was headed for its sharpest weekly loss against the yen since February, after the yen rallied sharply from levels around 160 per dollar. Bank of Japan data suggested authorities may have spent around 5.48 trillion yen, or roughly $35 billion, in yen-buying intervention. The dollar was softer more broadly as oil eased and investors reassessed the immediate inflation shock, while the euro and sterling were relatively supported. Currency markets remained on alert for further Japanese action, especially with liquidity thinner around the domestic holiday period.
In US Equity Markets stocks advanced on Thursday as strong corporate earnings helped investors look past geopolitical risk and higher oil prices. The S&P 500 rose around 1 percent, the Nasdaq gained around 0.9 percent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added around 1.6 percent, helped by strength in Caterpillar, Alphabet and other earnings-sensitive names. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed April with their strongest monthly gains in years, as investors leaned into the view that earnings momentum, especially across technology and AI-linked companies, could offset the drag from the Middle East oil shock and a more cautious Federal Reserve.
In Commodities Markets oil prices pulled back as markets reacted to a new Iranian proposal for negotiations with the United States, raising hopes that the deadlock around the conflict could ease. Brent crude fell toward the $109 per barrel area after recently trading as high as $126.41, while U.S. crude also moved lower but remained above $100 per barrel. The decline gave some relief to risk assets, although energy markets remained highly sensitive to any disruption around the Strait of Hormuz. Gold recovered from earlier losses as the dollar weakened, while silver, platinum and palladium also moved higher as precious metals found support from lower oil-driven inflation anxiety and softer dollar conditions.
In European Equity Markets stocks traded higher by late morning, supported by the pullback in oil prices and the strong earnings backdrop from the U.S. The pan-European STOXX 600 gained more than 1 percent, while sentiment was helped by relief that the latest move in crude was lower rather than another spike higher. Investors continued to balance two competing forces: improving corporate earnings on one side, and the risk that elevated energy prices could hurt margins, demand and central bank flexibility on the other. UK markets were more mixed, with the FTSE 100 lagging as energy weakness and pressure in selected large-cap names offset the broader improvement in global risk appetite.
In Bond Markets U.S. Treasury yields moved lower as oil eased and investors reduced some of the immediate inflation premium priced into rates. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield traded around 4.35 to 4.37 percent, while the two-year yield remained close to 3.9 percent after a volatile week shaped by the Federal Reserve’s hawkish hold and the Middle East-driven oil shock. Markets continued to scale back expectations for near-term Fed cuts, with higher energy prices complicating the disinflation narrative. In Europe, bond markets were more mixed, with investors weighing softer crude against still-elevated inflation risks and cautious signals from central banks.
