ASIA/PACIFIC
The Australian stock market hit record levels again on Friday, buoyed by optimism of local investors who cheered the stronger prospect of a Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) interest rate cut next month. Japanese markets advanced for the third straight day as a slew upbeat data kept the prospect of further rate hikes from the Bank of Japan alive. Markets in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan remained closed for the Lunar New Year holiday.
EUROPE
Major European stock markets closed slightly higher a day after the European Central Bank delivered a widely expected 25-basis point interest-rate cut and guided for a further reduction in March due to concerns about economic growth. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban told in an interview with Kossuth Radio on Friday that the European Union countries saw losses of €19 billion due to sanctions against Russia since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine.
AMERICAS
Major stock markets in the United States closed lower after White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed President Donald Trump’s threatened tariffs will be levied against China, Mexico and Canada beginning Saturday (Feb. 1). Investors also digested earnings reports from Chevron, ExxonMobil, and Colgate-Palmolive, among others. On the data front, the US report on personal spending showed an increase of 0.7% in December.
AFRICA
Speaking at the 2025 Monetary Policy Forum on Thursday, Central Bank of Nigeria Governor Cardoso urged vigilance to ensure monetary stability in the country. The South African Reserve Bank (SARB), also on Thursday reduced the repurchase rate by 25 basis points, bringing the repo rate to 7.5 percent and the prime lending rate to 11 percent.
MIDDLE EAST
Dubai Financial Market achieved total revenues of $172mln in 2024. Europe’s banking giant HSBC earned the most investment banking fees in MENA during 2024, a total of $107.3 million, or a 7% share of the total fee pool, according to LSEG data. Kuwait may approve a public debt law shortly, allowing it to borrow money for the first time in eight years, Bloomberg reported. The law is expected to allow the Middle Eastern country to raise 20 billion dinars ($65 billion) over the next five decades.
COMMODITIES
GOLD
Spot gold was up 0.1% at $2,797.48 per ounce, as of 0216 GMT, with investors flocking to the safe-haven metal as markets weigh the threat of tariffs by U.S. President Donald Trump on Mexico and Canada.
OIL
Brent crude futures for March, which expires on Friday, gained 38 cents at $77.25 a barrel at 0110 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) gained 49 cents to $73.22. Goldman Sachs on Thursday nudged up its 2025 and 2026 average Brent forecasts to $78 (versus $76 previously) and $73 (versus $71 prior), respectively, and now looks for an $80 peak in April-May 2025.
