Holiday-Thinned Markets Drift as China Rally Persists and Yen, Won Strengthen

Overview

• Asian trading was mixed as Shanghai rose for a sixth straight session on AI enthusiasm, the yuan firmed after PBoC liquidity, and the Nikkei and Kospi edged lower.
• Japan and South Korea reiterated readiness to curb excessive currency moves as the yen and won gained, and BoJ minutes pointed to a careful approach toward further rate increases.
• European stocks hovered near record levels in shortened sessions, with energy and miners supported as oil extended gains and gold, silver, platinum and copper hit records.
• U.S. equities traded near flat in a reduced session after the S&P 500’s record close, weekly jobless claims fell, and futures pricing still implies two Fed cuts by end‑2026.
• Deal news punctuated the quiet trade as BP moved to sell Castrol to Stonepeak for about $10 billion and Sanofi agreed to buy Dynavax for roughly $2.2 billion, while the U.S. outlined tariffs on Chinese chip imports with implementation delayed to June 2027.