Asian shares slipped while dollar edged up ahead of crucial week

Asian share prices dipped on Friday, as Tokyo stocks pulled back from recent record levels and investors booked gains ahead of a key week marked by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff deadline and major central bank meetings across the United States, Japan and Europe.

In Tokyo’s stock market, the broad Topix index, which had jumped over 5% in the two days before to hit a record high, eased by 0.7%. The Nikkei 225 fell 0.5% from Thursday’s one‑year peak.

Elsewhere in the region, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index lost 0.5%, and mainland China’s CSI 300 dropped 0.2%. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 closed down 0.5%.

In foreign exchange markets, the dollar climbed against the yen after rebounding from its two-week lows. Strong U.S. economic reports lent support to the greenback, while Japan’s currency weakened amid media reports that Prime Minister Ishiba plans to step down.

US futures inched higher

U.S. S&P 500 futures rose 0.2% after the S&P 500 cash index closed at a record high overnight, helped by solid results from Alphabet. The Nasdaq Composite also hit a new peak.

A global equity gauge, the MSCI All Country World Index, dipped 0.1% on Friday but remained close to Thursday’s record high. It is on track for a weekly gain of about 1.3%, driven by hopes for U.S. trade deals with the EU and China after this week’s agreement with Japan.

In the United States, President Trump’s deadline for new tariffs falls on August 1, and the Federal Reserve meets to set interest rates. The Labor Department will publish its monthly payroll report, and corporate results are due from Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, and Meta.

The Bank of Japan is set to issue its policy decision on Thursday, and on the same day, Prime Minister Ishiba’s Liberal Democratic Party will hold an internal meeting.

In Europe, the European Central Bank opted on Thursday to keep its policy rate unchanged, pausing its cycle of rate cuts as it assesses the impact of U.S. tariffs.

Dollar rose against yen while EU closed lower

On currency markets, the euro closed 0.2% lower against the dollar, trading around $1.1743 on Friday. The dollar rose to 147.37 yen, adding to Thursday’s 0.4% gain. The euro’s drop after the ECB decision underlined cautious sentiment.

President Trump kept up pressure on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to lower borrowing costs during a rare visit to the U.S. central bank on Thursday. He said, however, that he did not plan to fire Powell.

In the Treasury market, yields on 10‑year U.S. government bonds eased slightly to 4.39%, reversing gains from Thursday. In Japan, 10‑year bond yields fell 0.5 basis point to 1.595%, just under this week’s high of 1.6% last seen in October 2008.

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