- US-India trade deal targets $500bn in purchases, slashes tariffs
- WSJ: Trump to scrap landmark climate finding in sweeping regulatory rollback
- China's onshore yuan, CNY, hits its highest since 10 May 2023
- Japan pushes fast budget passage as food tax cuts, funding debated
- Vitol lifts long-term oil demand outlook, sees peak delayed to mid-2030s
- Japan stocks hit fresh record highs again today as earnings and Takaichi trade fuel rally
- South Korea to screen US investment projects ahead of key trade bill
- PBOC sets USD/ CNY central rate at 6.9458 (vs. estimate at 6.9135)
- Alphabet plans 100-year bond in landmark tech debt sale. First 100yr since dot com era.
- Australia business activity cools slightly as cost pressures ease
- UK retail sales post strongest growth since August in solid January start
- Singapore GDP explodes higher, forcing major upgrade to 2026 outlook
- Weak Australian consumer sentiment backs March RBA pause, Westpac still sees May hike
- Goldman Sachs sees USD/JPY upside, 160+, as Japan fiscal bets lift intervention risk
- Trump says wants to begin negotiations with Canada "IMMEDIATELY"
- Japan election clears path for fiscal push, analysts see equity upside but debt risks
- Villeroy exit unlikely to shift ECB policy as rare consensus holds
- BoE’s Mann says US Trump tariffs are pushing Chinese export prices higher for UK
- ICYMI bombshell: China tells banks to curb US Treasury exposure, “sell-America” nerves
- investingLive Americas market news wrap: US dollar slumbles, stocks continue rebound
At a glance:
Japanese equities hit fresh record highs while the yen strengthened, challenging the usual foreign-inflows-plus-hedging relationship.
Some analysts argue foreign investors may be less inclined to hedge yen exposure post-election, though conviction remains mixed.
Australian consumer confidence weakened sharply, while business surveys showed easing cost pressures.
Singapore upgraded its 2026 growth outlook after a strong end to 2025.
China’s onshore yuan strengthened to its firmest level since May 2023, while gold slipped.
Japanese equity purchases by foreign investors have traditionally been accompanied by yen selling to hedge currency risk, but that relationship appears to be showing signs of strain. Since Japan’s election result, the yen has strengthened rather than weakened, extending gains again today even as Japanese equity indices pushed to fresh record highs.
Japanese stocks have surged this week on expectations that the new government will pursue more expansionary policies, with manufacturing and defence-related names among the key beneficiaries. The equity rally has been forceful enough that some analysts are questioning whether foreign investors are becoming more willing to hold yen exposure outright, rather than systematically hedging it away. The implication is that the yen could face less structural downward pressure over time. I’m not fully convinced by that argument yet, but it is gaining traction in market commentary and worth flagging.
Outside of the yen, major FX traded in generally subdued ranges.
In Australia, the Westpac–Melbourne Institute consumer confidence index fell 2.6 points to a weak 90.5 in January, fully reversing the lift seen after last year’s rate cuts. The ANZ–Roy Morgan measure remains even softer, with most components deteriorating. By contrast, the January National Australia Bank business survey painted a slightly more balanced picture. Business conditions eased modestly while confidence edged higher, and importantly, labour costs, purchase costs and final prices all fell to their lowest levels since the pandemic. This easing in cost pressures may offer some comfort to the Reserve Bank of Australia, reinforcing hopes that the recent spike in CPI inflation proves temporary.
In Asia, Singapore lifted its growth forecast for this year to 2–4%, citing a much stronger-than-expected finish to 2025 and a supportive global backdrop. Meanwhile, China’s onshore yuan strengthened through 6.91 per dollar for the first time since May 2023.
Gold, meanwhile, lost ground as broader markets leaned modestly toward risk.
Asia-Pac stocks:
- Japan (Nikkei 225) +2.5%
- Hong Kong (Hang Seng) +0.58%
- Shanghai Composite %-0.05
- Australia (S&P/ASX 200) +0.21%
