Asian Stocks Edge Up, Euro Falls on French Concern: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks edged higher after US shares rose Friday as global markets enter a seasonally strong period. The euro weakened amid a dispute over the French budget.

The MSCI gauge of Asian shares headed for a second day of gains with benchmarks in South Korea and Australia among those gaining. The euro slipped after France’s far-right leader Marine Le Pen gave the strongest indication yet that she’s prepared to topple the government as soon as this week. 

“Reduced liquidity will be a factor as we roll through the month, but so could a potential performance chase from active managers to beat their set benchmark,” said Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone in Melbourne. “When these dynamics reconcile with uncertainty as to various central banks’ next moves, anyone hoping for a quiet last month of the calendar year may be disappointed.”

Finance Minister Antoine Armand said France won’t accept artificial budget deadlines from Marine Le Pen. The far-right leader has told the prime minister he needs to make tweaks to his 2025 budget by Monday, which is when opposition lawmakers are expected to initiate the process to call the vote of no-confidence.

Emerging market assets including China’s yuan and South African rand may face volatility after US President Donald Trump warned BRICS nations he will require a commitment that they won’t create a new currency, or favor another in a bid to displace the US dollar in global trade. Should they not meet Trump’s demands, he threatened to lob 100% tariffs on their goods entering the US. 

Trump’s pick for his Treasury secretary earlier this month had fueled optimism that tariffs will be measured, boosting US stocks and bonds, and sapping dollar strength. US stocks climbed 5.7% in November for the best month of this year, while the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index declined more than 1% last week, snapping eight weeks of gains.

In commodities, oil rose in early trading amid heightened Middle East tensions. 

Chinese activity data released at the weekend showed factory activity continued to expand in November. That adds to tentative signs of economic recovery since October after a raft of stimulus measures including interest-rate cuts were announced in late September. 

In Japan, Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said interest-rate hikes are “nearing” as inflation and economic trends develop in line with the central bank’s forecasts. Ueda’s comments helped strengthen the yen in late trading Friday in New York. The Japanese currency surged more than 3% last week as bets on a December rate hike rose following data showing inflation in Tokyo accelerating more than expected.

“We expect the market to further increase pricing for a 25 basis point rate hike at the BOJ December meeting because of another solid Japanese labor cash earnings report” due Friday, Commonwealth Bank of Australia strategists led by Joseph Capurso wrote in a note to clients. Ueda’s comments suggest a rate hike may be considered at the meeting, they wrote. 

In corporate news, BlackRock Inc. is nearing a deal to buy HPS Investment Partners at a value of $12 billion or more and catapult itself into the top ranks of private credit, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Nissan Motor Co. Chief Financial Officer Stephen Ma is set to step down from his position, people with knowledge of the matter said, marking yet another executive change as the company sheds jobs and cuts manufacturing capacity. 

Key events this week: 

Some of the main moves in markets: 

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Cryptocurrencies

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Commodities

This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.

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