Holiday Lull Amplifies FX Signals as China Stocks Climb and Brazil’s Real Slides

Overview

• Chinese equities extended a multi‑day advance, with authorities reinforcing support by injecting liquidity and setting the daily yuan fix far from market models to manage appreciation pressure.
• Japan and South Korea kept intervention risk front and center after renewed pledges to counter excessive currency swings, with traders citing an active FX task force in Seoul.
• U.S. stocks traded near recent records in a quiet post‑holiday session after the S&P 500 notched a fresh closing high earlier in the week.
• The Brazilian real weakened and the central bank scheduled up to $2 billion in dollar line auctions after Jair Bolsonaro confirmed in a handwritten letter his support for Senator Flávio Bolsonaro as a 2026 pre‑candidate.
• Brazil’s Ibovespa fell in thin trade, led by banks, as investors weighed the new opposition landscape heading into the 2026 race.