S&P 500 — US Large Cap Index
FTSE 100 — UK Blue Chips
Euro Stoxx 50 — Eurozone Leaders
DAX 40 — German Equities
CAC 40 — French Market Index
Nikkei 225 — Japan Benchmark
Hang Seng — Hong Kong Index
Shanghai Composite — China Mainland
ASX 200 — Australian Market
TSX Composite — Canada Index
Nifty 50 — India Large Cap
STI Index — Singapore Market
KOSPI — South Korea Index
Bovespa — Brazil Equities
JSE Top 40 — South Africa Index
IPC Index — Mexico MarketThe Japanese yen stabilized around 156.6 per dollar on Friday after two consecutive sessions of losses, though it remained near ten-month lows, intensifying calls for intervention. Tokyo’s verbal warnings last month briefly kept the yen out of the intervention zone, with Finance Minister Katayama emphasizing Japan’s freedom to act against excessive moves, though worries over further weakening persist. Japan’s business lobby leaders have now urged the government to address the weakening yen and support a stronger currency. The country’s expansive fiscal policy remained a source of concern, with public debt already exceeding twice the size of the country’s economy. The cabinet recently approved Prime Minister Takaichi’s record 122.3 trillion yen budget, seeking to balance aggressive spending with debt management by curbing new bond issuance. The yen ended 2025 with a modest 0.3% gain, snapping a four-year losing streak, partly supported by two rate hikes this year.
