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The Star
a day ago
- Business
- The Star
Asia shares hit over three-year high; dollar struggles on Fed concerns
SINGAPORE: Asia shares hit their highest level in more than three years on Friday as they tracked a Wall Street rally, but the U.S. dollar struggled on concerns about the Federal Reserve's independence and expectations for early rate cuts. Stock indexes worldwide look set to end the week on a positive note, with worries about tensions in the Middle East and uncertainty over tariffs and trade deals on the backburner for now. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan hit its highest level since November 2021 early in the session, while the gauge of stocks across the globe hit another record high for the fourth straight session. EUROSTOXX 50 futures and DAX futures were both up more than 0.5%, while FTSE futures were little changed. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures tacked on 0.1% each. Reasons for the upbeat mood included news that Washington has reached an agreement with Beijing on how to expedite rare earth shipments to the United States. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also said on Thursday that he had asked Republicans in Congress to scrap the Section 899 retaliatory tax proposal from their tax and spending bill after Washington reached an agreement with Group of Seven industrial countries. "That was something that had been making some investors, especially foreign investors, nervous when that provision was passed by the House. So if that provision gets removed, then that allays one of the concerns from foreign investors," said Khoon Goh, head of Asia research at ANZ. "The cumuluation of these various ... positive developments all helped to contribute to the buoyant market mood we're seeing." Japan's Nikkei jumped 1.4% and surpassed the 40,000 mark for the first time in five months. Stocks in Hong Kong and mainland China traded marginally lower, though the CSI 300 index was on track for a 2.6% gain for the week, which would be the largest since November 2024. FED CUTS COMING Much of the focus for markets over the past two sessions has been on the prospect of an early change of guard at the Fed, after the Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. President Donald Trump had toyed with the idea of selecting and announcing Fed Chair Jerome Powell's replacement by September or October. That knocked an already battered dollar even lower as traders fretted about an erosion of Fed independence and as they moved to price in more U.S. rate cuts this year. The dollar languished near a 3-1/2-year low on Friday and was headed for a 1.4% weekly loss, its largest decline in over a month. For the year, the greenback is already down more than 10% and if it stays that way in the next few days, that will mark its biggest first half-of-a-year fall since the start of the era of free-floating currencies in the early 1970s. Against a weaker dollar, the euro was perched near its highest in over three years at $1.1688. Sterling last bought $1.3725. "Trump's desire to 'shadow' the Fed using a designated replacement for Chair Jay Powell isn't a good way to promote the perceptions of integrity and autonomy in U.S. policymaking and, by extension, that of the reserve currency status of the U.S. dollar," said Thierry Wizman, global FX and rates strategist at Macquarie Group. Adding to the Fed cut bets has been a raft of weaker-than-expected U.S. economic data, with attention now shifting to Friday's release of the core PCE price index, the U.S. central bank's preferred measure of inflation. U.S. Treasury yields were steady in Asia after falling the previous session, with the two-year yield at 3.7418% and the benchmark 10-year yield last at 4.2573%. In commodities, oil prices were set for a weekly decline with the Iran-Israel ceasefire holding and easing concerns over Middle East supply risks. Brent crude futures were up 0.58% at $68.12 a barrel while U.S. crude rose 0.6% to $65.63 per barrel on Friday, but both were headed for a fall of more than 10% for the week. Spot gold fell 1% to $3,294.50 an ounce. - Reuters
The Star
a day ago
- Business
- The Star
Shares rally but dollar weakens with Fed independence seen under threat
SINGAPORE: Asia shares hit their highest level in more than three years on Friday as they tracked a Wall Street rally, though the dollar struggled on concerns about the Federal Reserve's independence and expectations for early rate cuts. Stock indexes worldwide look set to end the week on a positive note, with worries about tensions in the Middle East and uncertainty over tariffs and trade deals on the backburner for now. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan touched its strongest level since November 2021 early in the session. It last traded 0.2% higher and is set to clock a 3% gain for the week. Japan's Nikkei jumped 1.5% and surpassed the 40,000 mark for the first time in five months. Reasons for the upbeat mood included news that Washington has reached an agreement with Beijing on how to expedite rare earth shipments to the United States. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also said on Thursday that he has asked Republicans in Congress to scrap the Section 899 retaliatory tax proposal from their tax and spending bill after Washington reached an agreement with Group of Seven industrial countries. "That was something that had been making some investors, especially foreign investors, nervous when that provision was passed by the House. So if that provision gets removed, then that allays one of the concerns from foreign investors," said Khoon Goh, head of Asia research at ANZ. "The cumuluation of these various... positive developments all helped to contribute to the buoyant market mood we're seeing." European futures also gained, with EUROSTOXX 50 futures and DAX futures both up 0.6%, while FTSE futures advanced 0.16%. U.S. stock futures were little changed, though Wall Street had on Thursday closed near record highs, further supported by expectations of imminent Fed rate cuts. FED CUTS COMING Much of the focus for markets over the past two sessions has been on the prospect of an early change of guard at the Fed, after the Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. President Donald Trump has toyed with the idea of selecting and announcing Fed Chair Jerome Powell's replacement by September or October. That knocked an already battered dollar even lower as traders fretted about an erosion of Fed independence and as they moved to price in more U.S. rate cuts this year. The dollar languished near a 3-1/2-year low on Friday and was headed for a 1.4% weekly loss, its largest decline in over a month. For the year, the greenback is already down more than 10% and if it stays that way in the next few days, that will mark its biggest first half-of-a-year fall since the start of the era of free-floating currencies in the early 1970s. Against a weaker dollar, the euro was perched near its highest in over three years at $1.1688. Sterling rose 0.03% to $1.3730. "Trump's desire to 'shadow' the Fed using a designated replacement for Chair Jay Powell isn't a good way to promote the perceptions of integrity and autonomy in U.S. policymaking and, by extension, that of the reserve currency status of the U.S. dollar," said Thierry Wizman, global FX and rates strategist at Macquarie Group. Adding to the Fed cut bets has been a raft of weaker-than-expected U.S. economic data, with attention now shifting to Friday's release of the core PCE price index, the U.S. central bank's preferred measure of inflation. U.S. Treasury yields were steady in Asia after falling the previous session, with the two-year yield at 3.7418% and the benchmark 10-year yield last at 4.2554%. In commodities, oil prices were set for a weekly decline with the Iran-Israel ceasefire holding and easing concerns over Middle East supply risks. Brent crude futures were up 0.41% at $68.01 a barrel while U.S. crude rose 0.46% to $65.53 per barrel on Friday, but both were headed for a fall of more than 10% for the week. Spot gold fell 0.23% to $3,320.25 an ounce. - Reuters
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Business Standard
a day ago
- Business
- Business Standard
Asia shares hit over three year high; dollar struggles on Fed concerns
Stock indexes worldwide look set to end the week on a positive note, with worries about tensions in the Middle East and uncertainty over tariffs and trade deals on the backburner for now Reuters SINGAPORE Asia shares hit their highest level in more than three years on Friday as they tracked a Wall Street rally, but the US dollar struggled on concerns about the Federal Reserve's independence and expectations for early rate cuts. Stock indexes worldwide look set to end the week on a positive note, with worries about tensions in the Middle East and uncertainty over tariffs and trade deals on the backburner for now. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan hit its highest level since November 2021 early in the session, while the gauge of stocks across the globe hit another record high for the fourth straight session. EUROSTOXX 50 futures and DAX futures were both up more than 0.5 per cent, while FTSE futures were little changed. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures tacked on 0.1 per cent each. Reasons for the upbeat mood included news that Washington has reached an agreement with Beijing on how to expedite rare earth shipments to the United States. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also said on Thursday that he had asked Republicans in Congress to scrap the Section 899 retaliatory tax proposal from their tax and spending bill after Washington reached an agreement with Group of Seven industrial countries. "That was something that had been making some investors, especially foreign investors, nervous when that provision was passed by the House. So if that provision gets removed, then that allays one of the concerns from foreign investors," said Khoon Goh, head of Asia research at ANZ. "The cumuluation of these various ... positive developments all helped to contribute to the buoyant market mood we're seeing." Japan's Nikkei jumped 1.4 per cent and surpassed the 40,000 mark for the first time in five months. Stocks in Hong Kong and mainland China traded marginally lower, though the CSI 300 index was on track for a 2.6 per cent gain for the week, which would be the largest since November 2024. Fed cuts coming Much of the focus for markets over the past two sessions has been on the prospect of an early change of guard at the Fed, after the Wall Street Journal reported that US President Donald Trump had toyed with the idea of selecting and announcing Fed Chair Jerome Powell's replacement by September or October. That knocked an already battered dollar even lower as traders fretted about an erosion of Fed independence and as they moved to price in more US rate cuts this year. The dollar languished near a 3-1/2-year low on Friday and was headed for a 1.4 per cent weekly loss, its largest decline in over a month. For the year, the greenback is already down more than 10 per cent and if it stays that way in the next few days, that will mark its biggest first half-of-a-year fall since the start of the era of free-floating currencies in the early 1970s. Against a weaker dollar, the euro was perched near its highest in over three years at $1.1688. Sterling last bought $1.3725. "Trump's desire to 'shadow' the Fed using a designated replacement for Chair Jay Powell isn't a good way to promote the perceptions of integrity and autonomy in US policymaking and, by extension, that of the reserve currency status of the US dollar," said Thierry Wizman, global FX and rates strategist at Macquarie Group. Adding to the Fed cut bets has been a raft of weaker-than-expected US economic data, with attention now shifting to Friday's release of the core PCE price index, the US central bank's preferred measure of inflation. US Treasury yields were steady in Asia after falling the previous session, with the two-year yield at 3.7418 per cent and the benchmark 10-year yield last at 4.2573 per cent. In commodities, oil prices were set for a weekly decline with the Iran-Israel ceasefire holding and easing concerns over Middle East supply risks. [O/R] Brent crude futures were up 0.58 per cent at $68.12 a barrel while US crude rose 0.6 per cent to $65.63 per barrel on Friday, but both were headed for a fall of more than 10 per cent for the week. Spot gold fell 1 per cent to $3,294.50 an ounce. [GOL/] (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Time of India
a day ago
- Business
- Time of India
Asia stocks surge: Markets hit 3-year high; oil prices edge up despite weekly drop
Representative image (Picture credit: AP) Asian equities surged to multi-year highs on Friday, mirroring Wall Street's optimism, as easing geopolitical concerns and expectations of interest rate cuts lifted investor sentiment across the region. Meanwhile, oil prices posted modest gains but remained on track for a significant weekly decline amid easing Middle East supply risks and growing optimism over US-Iran diplomacy. According to news agency Reuters, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan touched its highest level since November 2021 and was last up 0.2%, set to end the week nearly 3% higher. Japan's Nikkei 225 jumped 1.5%, crossing the 40,000 mark for the first time in five months, supported by improved sentiment and robust earnings. The rally was buoyed by several positive developments, including a breakthrough between Washington and Beijing on rare earth shipments and news that the US may scrap a controversial tax proposal, a move that had earlier worried foreign investors. Khoon Goh, head of Asia research at ANZ, was quoted by Reuters as saying that the reversal "allays one of the concerns from foreign investors." European markets also reflected the upbeat tone, with futures on the EUROSTOXX 50 and Germany's DAX up 0.6%, while FTSE futures climbed 0.16%. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Perdagangkan CFD Emas dengan Broker Tepercaya IC Markets Mendaftar Undo The optimism comes amid growing speculation that the US Federal Reserve will begin cutting interest rates soon. As per Bloomberg, a sharp drop in the US dollar has helped lift Asian currencies and fuel demand for regional assets. The Bloomberg Dollar Index is set for its sixth consecutive monthly decline, its worst losing streak since 2017. With Trump reportedly considering a replacement for Fed Chair Jerome Powell by October, concerns about the Fed's independence have further weakened the greenback. Investor appetite in Asia has also been driven by blockbuster fundraising activity, with IPO volumes across Hong Kong and Tokyo rising sharply. Regional companies have raised over $90 billion through share sales this year, a 25% increase from the same period in 2024. In commodities, oil prices rose slightly on Friday but remained poised for their steepest weekly decline in over a year. Brent crude gained 0.41% to $68.01 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate rose 0.46% to $65.53, Reuters reported. Despite the modest rise, both benchmarks were down more than 10% this week, reversing gains from the initial surge following the Israel-Iran conflict. According to the US Energy Information Administration, crude inventories dropped by 5.8 million barrels in the week to June 20, far exceeding expectations, as summer driving demand increased. Still, a ceasefire between Israel and Iran has eased fears of major disruptions, limiting further gains. As per Bloomberg, markets are now shifting their attention to upcoming trade decisions in Washington and a crucial OPEC+ meeting on July 6, where production policy for August will be determined. Reuters quoted Phil Flynn of the Price Futures Group as saying, 'The market is starting to digest the fact that crude oil inventories are very tight all of a sudden,' adding that a weaker dollar is also supporting prices. Despite lingering uncertainties around US trade tariffs and Iran's future oil exports, the market's focus has returned to fundamentals. Citi analysts noted that Trump's swift ceasefire push 'suggests he remains sensitive to high oil prices,' potentially capping geopolitical risk premiums. With investor optimism returning and central banks signalling support, Asia's equity and credit markets appear well-positioned, though analysts warn the road ahead may still hold 'a few more twists,' especially with upcoming trade deadlines. Stay informed with the latest business news, updates on bank holidays and public holidays . AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
The Advertiser
a day ago
- Business
- The Advertiser
Asian shares rally while US dollar weakens
Asian shares have hit their highest level in more than three years as they tracked a Wall Street rally, though the dollar struggled on concerns about the Federal Reserve's independence and expectations for early rate cuts. Stock indexes worldwide look set to end the week on a positive note, with worries about tensions in the Middle East and uncertainty over tariffs and trade deals on the backburner for now. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan touched its strongest level since November 2021 early in the session. It last traded 0.2 per cent higher and is set to clock a 3 per cent gain for the week. Japan's Nikkei jumped 1.5 per cent and surpassed the 40,000 mark for the first time in five months. Reasons for the upbeat mood included news that Washington has reached an agreement with Beijing on how to expedite rare earth shipments to the United States. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also said on Thursday that he has asked Republicans in Congress to scrap the Section 899 retaliatory tax proposal from their tax and spending bill after Washington reached an agreement with Group of Seven industrial countries. "That was something that had been making some investors, especially foreign investors, nervous when that provision was passed by the House. So if that provision gets removed, then that allays one of the concerns from foreign investors," said Khoon Goh, head of Asia research at ANZ. "The accumulation of these various... positive developments all helped to contribute to the buoyant market mood we're seeing." European futures also gained, with EUROSTOXX 50 futures and DAX futures both up 0.6per cent, while FTSE futures advanced 0.16per cent. US stock futures were little changed, though Wall Street had on Thursday closed near record highs, further supported by expectations of imminent Fed rate cuts. Much of the focus for markets over the past two sessions has been on the prospect of an early change of guard at the Fed, after the Wall Street Journal reported that US President Donald Trump has toyed with the idea of selecting and announcing Fed Chair Jerome Powell's replacement by September or October. That knocked an already battered dollar even lower as traders fretted about an erosion of Fed independence and as they moved to price in more US rate cuts this year. The dollar languished near a 3-1/2-year low on Friday and was headed for a 1.4 per cent weekly loss, its largest decline in over a month. For the year, the greenback is already down more than 10 per cent and if it stays that way in the next few days, that will mark its biggest first half-year fall since the start of the era of free-floating currencies in the early 1970s. Against a weaker dollar, the euro was perched near its highest in over three years at $1.1688. Sterling rose 0.03per cent to $1.3730. "Trump's desire to 'shadow' the Fed using a designated replacement for Chair Jay Powell isn't a good way to promote the perceptions of integrity and autonomy in US policymaking and, by extension, that of the reserve currency status of the US dollar," said Thierry Wizman, global FX and rates strategist at Macquarie Group. Adding to the Fed cut bets has been a raft of weaker-than-expected US economic data, with attention now shifting to Friday's release of the core PCE price index, the US central bank's preferred measure of inflation. US Treasury yields were steady in Asia after falling the previous session, with the two-year yield at 3.7418per cent and the benchmark 10-year yield last at 4.2554 per cent. In commodities, oil prices were set for a weekly decline with the Iran-Israel ceasefire holding and easing concerns over Middle East supply risks. Brent crude futures were up 0.41per cent at $68.01 a barrel while US crude rose 0.46per cent to $65.53 per barrel on Friday, but both were headed for a fall of more than 10per cent for the week. Spot gold fell 0.23per cent to $3,320.25 an ounce. Asian shares have hit their highest level in more than three years as they tracked a Wall Street rally, though the dollar struggled on concerns about the Federal Reserve's independence and expectations for early rate cuts. Stock indexes worldwide look set to end the week on a positive note, with worries about tensions in the Middle East and uncertainty over tariffs and trade deals on the backburner for now. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan touched its strongest level since November 2021 early in the session. It last traded 0.2 per cent higher and is set to clock a 3 per cent gain for the week. Japan's Nikkei jumped 1.5 per cent and surpassed the 40,000 mark for the first time in five months. Reasons for the upbeat mood included news that Washington has reached an agreement with Beijing on how to expedite rare earth shipments to the United States. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also said on Thursday that he has asked Republicans in Congress to scrap the Section 899 retaliatory tax proposal from their tax and spending bill after Washington reached an agreement with Group of Seven industrial countries. "That was something that had been making some investors, especially foreign investors, nervous when that provision was passed by the House. So if that provision gets removed, then that allays one of the concerns from foreign investors," said Khoon Goh, head of Asia research at ANZ. "The accumulation of these various... positive developments all helped to contribute to the buoyant market mood we're seeing." European futures also gained, with EUROSTOXX 50 futures and DAX futures both up 0.6per cent, while FTSE futures advanced 0.16per cent. US stock futures were little changed, though Wall Street had on Thursday closed near record highs, further supported by expectations of imminent Fed rate cuts. Much of the focus for markets over the past two sessions has been on the prospect of an early change of guard at the Fed, after the Wall Street Journal reported that US President Donald Trump has toyed with the idea of selecting and announcing Fed Chair Jerome Powell's replacement by September or October. That knocked an already battered dollar even lower as traders fretted about an erosion of Fed independence and as they moved to price in more US rate cuts this year. The dollar languished near a 3-1/2-year low on Friday and was headed for a 1.4 per cent weekly loss, its largest decline in over a month. For the year, the greenback is already down more than 10 per cent and if it stays that way in the next few days, that will mark its biggest first half-year fall since the start of the era of free-floating currencies in the early 1970s. Against a weaker dollar, the euro was perched near its highest in over three years at $1.1688. Sterling rose 0.03per cent to $1.3730. "Trump's desire to 'shadow' the Fed using a designated replacement for Chair Jay Powell isn't a good way to promote the perceptions of integrity and autonomy in US policymaking and, by extension, that of the reserve currency status of the US dollar," said Thierry Wizman, global FX and rates strategist at Macquarie Group. Adding to the Fed cut bets has been a raft of weaker-than-expected US economic data, with attention now shifting to Friday's release of the core PCE price index, the US central bank's preferred measure of inflation. US Treasury yields were steady in Asia after falling the previous session, with the two-year yield at 3.7418per cent and the benchmark 10-year yield last at 4.2554 per cent. In commodities, oil prices were set for a weekly decline with the Iran-Israel ceasefire holding and easing concerns over Middle East supply risks. Brent crude futures were up 0.41per cent at $68.01 a barrel while US crude rose 0.46per cent to $65.53 per barrel on Friday, but both were headed for a fall of more than 10per cent for the week. Spot gold fell 0.23per cent to $3,320.25 an ounce. Asian shares have hit their highest level in more than three years as they tracked a Wall Street rally, though the dollar struggled on concerns about the Federal Reserve's independence and expectations for early rate cuts. Stock indexes worldwide look set to end the week on a positive note, with worries about tensions in the Middle East and uncertainty over tariffs and trade deals on the backburner for now. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan touched its strongest level since November 2021 early in the session. It last traded 0.2 per cent higher and is set to clock a 3 per cent gain for the week. Japan's Nikkei jumped 1.5 per cent and surpassed the 40,000 mark for the first time in five months. Reasons for the upbeat mood included news that Washington has reached an agreement with Beijing on how to expedite rare earth shipments to the United States. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also said on Thursday that he has asked Republicans in Congress to scrap the Section 899 retaliatory tax proposal from their tax and spending bill after Washington reached an agreement with Group of Seven industrial countries. "That was something that had been making some investors, especially foreign investors, nervous when that provision was passed by the House. So if that provision gets removed, then that allays one of the concerns from foreign investors," said Khoon Goh, head of Asia research at ANZ. "The accumulation of these various... positive developments all helped to contribute to the buoyant market mood we're seeing." European futures also gained, with EUROSTOXX 50 futures and DAX futures both up 0.6per cent, while FTSE futures advanced 0.16per cent. US stock futures were little changed, though Wall Street had on Thursday closed near record highs, further supported by expectations of imminent Fed rate cuts. Much of the focus for markets over the past two sessions has been on the prospect of an early change of guard at the Fed, after the Wall Street Journal reported that US President Donald Trump has toyed with the idea of selecting and announcing Fed Chair Jerome Powell's replacement by September or October. That knocked an already battered dollar even lower as traders fretted about an erosion of Fed independence and as they moved to price in more US rate cuts this year. The dollar languished near a 3-1/2-year low on Friday and was headed for a 1.4 per cent weekly loss, its largest decline in over a month. For the year, the greenback is already down more than 10 per cent and if it stays that way in the next few days, that will mark its biggest first half-year fall since the start of the era of free-floating currencies in the early 1970s. Against a weaker dollar, the euro was perched near its highest in over three years at $1.1688. Sterling rose 0.03per cent to $1.3730. "Trump's desire to 'shadow' the Fed using a designated replacement for Chair Jay Powell isn't a good way to promote the perceptions of integrity and autonomy in US policymaking and, by extension, that of the reserve currency status of the US dollar," said Thierry Wizman, global FX and rates strategist at Macquarie Group. Adding to the Fed cut bets has been a raft of weaker-than-expected US economic data, with attention now shifting to Friday's release of the core PCE price index, the US central bank's preferred measure of inflation. US Treasury yields were steady in Asia after falling the previous session, with the two-year yield at 3.7418per cent and the benchmark 10-year yield last at 4.2554 per cent. In commodities, oil prices were set for a weekly decline with the Iran-Israel ceasefire holding and easing concerns over Middle East supply risks. Brent crude futures were up 0.41per cent at $68.01 a barrel while US crude rose 0.46per cent to $65.53 per barrel on Friday, but both were headed for a fall of more than 10per cent for the week. Spot gold fell 0.23per cent to $3,320.25 an ounce. Asian shares have hit their highest level in more than three years as they tracked a Wall Street rally, though the dollar struggled on concerns about the Federal Reserve's independence and expectations for early rate cuts. Stock indexes worldwide look set to end the week on a positive note, with worries about tensions in the Middle East and uncertainty over tariffs and trade deals on the backburner for now. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan touched its strongest level since November 2021 early in the session. It last traded 0.2 per cent higher and is set to clock a 3 per cent gain for the week. Japan's Nikkei jumped 1.5 per cent and surpassed the 40,000 mark for the first time in five months. Reasons for the upbeat mood included news that Washington has reached an agreement with Beijing on how to expedite rare earth shipments to the United States. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also said on Thursday that he has asked Republicans in Congress to scrap the Section 899 retaliatory tax proposal from their tax and spending bill after Washington reached an agreement with Group of Seven industrial countries. "That was something that had been making some investors, especially foreign investors, nervous when that provision was passed by the House. So if that provision gets removed, then that allays one of the concerns from foreign investors," said Khoon Goh, head of Asia research at ANZ. "The accumulation of these various... positive developments all helped to contribute to the buoyant market mood we're seeing." European futures also gained, with EUROSTOXX 50 futures and DAX futures both up 0.6per cent, while FTSE futures advanced 0.16per cent. US stock futures were little changed, though Wall Street had on Thursday closed near record highs, further supported by expectations of imminent Fed rate cuts. Much of the focus for markets over the past two sessions has been on the prospect of an early change of guard at the Fed, after the Wall Street Journal reported that US President Donald Trump has toyed with the idea of selecting and announcing Fed Chair Jerome Powell's replacement by September or October. That knocked an already battered dollar even lower as traders fretted about an erosion of Fed independence and as they moved to price in more US rate cuts this year. The dollar languished near a 3-1/2-year low on Friday and was headed for a 1.4 per cent weekly loss, its largest decline in over a month. For the year, the greenback is already down more than 10 per cent and if it stays that way in the next few days, that will mark its biggest first half-year fall since the start of the era of free-floating currencies in the early 1970s. Against a weaker dollar, the euro was perched near its highest in over three years at $1.1688. Sterling rose 0.03per cent to $1.3730. "Trump's desire to 'shadow' the Fed using a designated replacement for Chair Jay Powell isn't a good way to promote the perceptions of integrity and autonomy in US policymaking and, by extension, that of the reserve currency status of the US dollar," said Thierry Wizman, global FX and rates strategist at Macquarie Group. Adding to the Fed cut bets has been a raft of weaker-than-expected US economic data, with attention now shifting to Friday's release of the core PCE price index, the US central bank's preferred measure of inflation. US Treasury yields were steady in Asia after falling the previous session, with the two-year yield at 3.7418per cent and the benchmark 10-year yield last at 4.2554 per cent. In commodities, oil prices were set for a weekly decline with the Iran-Israel ceasefire holding and easing concerns over Middle East supply risks. Brent crude futures were up 0.41per cent at $68.01 a barrel while US crude rose 0.46per cent to $65.53 per barrel on Friday, but both were headed for a fall of more than 10per cent for the week. Spot gold fell 0.23per cent to $3,320.25 an ounce.
