Asian Stocks to Rise as US Data Boosts Sentiment: Markets Wrap

Asian stocks were set to climb Friday as a global equity rally gained fresh vigor on strong US data that eased concerns about the economy and supported the dollar.

Equity index futures for Japan and Australia rose in early Asian trading after the and set closing highs Thursday. Tech stocks rose as a from bolstered confidence in artificial-intelligence spending. In late hours, reported and raised its forecast.

After a brief pause, the dollar resumed its advance for July, which is set to be its best month in 2025. Treasury two-year yields rose while those on 30-year bonds were little changed. Money markets continued to price fewer than two Federal Reserve rate cuts this year.

The cross-asset moves were a sign of bullish risk appetite a day after speculation President Donald Trump would fire Jerome Powell sent volatility spiking. The gains in equities reflected strong US economic data and confidence US companies will deliver robust second-quarter earnings, calming the uncertainty caused by US trade policy.

A June advance in US tempered concerns about weaker consumer spending. Applications for US unemployment for a fifth straight week to the lowest since mid-April, showing a resilient job market.

“As long as the economy continues to expand and unemployment remains low, then people will continue to spend and the flywheel can keep generating higher profits, which is the engine for higher stock prices,” said Chris Zaccarelli at Northlight Asset Management.

In Asia, data set for release Friday includes inflation for Japan, gross domestic product for Malaysia and foreign direct investment for China.

Elsewhere, a White House shift on US chip bans that impacts Nvidia Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. has spurred talk of a between Washington and Beijing. Separately, the US Commerce Department imposed anti-dumping duties on Chinese imports of graphite, a key battery component.

Fed Bank of San Francisco President Mary Daly said it’s reasonable for policymakers to plan on this year, emphasizing that the central bank should not wait too long before moving. Meantime, Fed Governor Adriana Kugler said officials should keep holding rates steady “ ,” citing accelerating inflation as tariffs start to boost prices.

The crypto industry got a major win after Congress passed the stablecoin bill. US-based crypto companies and rose, while Bitcoin wavered after hitting a record earlier in the week.

Bull Market

Morgan Stanley’s Mike Wilson says he sees a building in stocks. But first the S&P 500 may drop 5% to 10% this quarter as the impact of trade policies gets reflected on corporate balance sheets. He thinks the decline will be short lived, giving investors an attractive entry point to a rally driven by improving earnings expectations.

To Jamie Cox at Harris Financial Group, consumers seem to be over the tariff shock in April and are back to spending. “Now we just need to see if the Federal Reserve has enough inflation data to communicate more clearly that September will restart the rate cutting cycle,” he said.

At Bloomberg Economics, Estelle Ou said it’s difficult to untangle whether most of the rebound is due to price increases or solid underlying demand, but thinks the former is more likely.

“A reassuring retail sales result comes at the perfect time as earnings season kicks into gear,” she said. “In the last earnings go-around, management reassured investors that consumer trends were solid through April and May. However, there was a worry that consumer spending was beginning to weaken after back-to-back declines in retail sales.”

If earnings are more upbeat than expected and if management continues to tell a reassuring story about consumer spending, stocks could react favorably — even after a rally to record highs that some investors may view as overextended, said Bret Kenwell at eToro.

“If tariffs start to weigh on consumer spending in the months ahead, that could present risks in the second half of the year,” he said. “For now though, consumers are still spending — and stocks can continue to rally, particularly if earnings reflect continued underlying strength in America’s largest engine: the consumer.”

Some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

Currencies

Cryptocurrencies

Bonds

Commodities

This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.