Asian Stocks Poised for Seventh Straight Monthly Gain; Dollar Holds Firm

Asian shares looked set to notch a seventh consecutive monthly gain on Friday, lifted by strong earnings from Amazon and Apple, which boosted Wall Street futures. However, the U.S. dollar held near a three-month high as uncertainty lingered over the Federal Reserve’s next move on rate cuts.

In contrast, European stock futures pointed to a weaker open, with EURO STOXX 50 futures down 0.2% and FTSE futures off 0.3%.

On Wall Street, Nasdaq futures rose 1.1% and S&P 500 futures added 0.6%, driven by Amazon’s blowout results that sent its shares up as much as 13% after hours, adding more than $300 billion in market value. Apple gained 2.3% after iPhone sales beat forecasts, offsetting earlier weakness in Meta and Microsoft stocks amid concerns over rising AI-related spending.

Of the “Magnificent Seven” mega-cap U.S. tech giants, six have now reported earnings, with results proving mixed. Nvidia, the world’s first $5 trillion company, will report in three weeks.

“Tech profit growth remains strong but is expected to slow,” said Diana Mousina, deputy chief economist at AMP. “That could trigger some softness in tech stocks, especially given their elevated valuations. Despite recent volatility, the Magnificent Seven have still outperformed the S&P 500 so far this year.”

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei (.N225) surged 1.9% on Friday, bringing weekly and monthly gains to 6% and 16.4%, respectively—its best monthly rally since 1990—fueled by expectations of aggressive fiscal stimulus under new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.

Meanwhile, the MSCI broad index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) slipped 0.4%, dragged lower by Chinese stocks, though it remained on track for a 1% weekly and 4% monthly advance.

China’s CSI300 blue-chip index fell 1.2%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index (.HSI) dropped 0.9% after data showed factory activity in October contracted at its fastest pace in six months.

Even after Thursday’s announcement that U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping had reached a trade deal—reducing U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports, restarting Beijing’s soybean purchases, and allowing rare-earth exports to continue—investors remained cautious.

Major central bank meetings this week largely met expectations, though Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell surprised markets by pushing back against hopes for a December rate cut.

U.S. Treasuries were steady on Friday but headed for weekly losses. The two-year yield held at 3.6085%, up 12 basis points for the week, while the 10-year yield was unchanged at 4.0969%, up about 10 bps on the week.

Higher yields supported the dollar, which traded near 99.5 against major peers—its highest in three months—though resistance remains at 99.56 and 100.25.

The European Central Bank on Thursday left interest rates unchanged at 2% for a third consecutive meeting, reiterating that policy was “well positioned” as economic risks ease. The euro was little changed at $1.1569.

Oil prices extended declines, heading for a third straight monthly drop as a stronger dollar and rising supply from major producers offset Western sanctions on Russian exports. Brent crude futures fell 0.9% to $64.55 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) slipped 0.8% to $60.10.

Spot gold gave up overnight gains, easing 0.3% to $4,008 per ounce, down 2.5% for the week and well below last week’s record high of $4,381.