Asian Stocks Fall Ending 5 Session Rally – Asia Market Wrap

The dollar weakened for a second session while equities slipped, as large market moves earlier in the week driven by the US-China tariff truce moderated.

The greenback fell against major currencies, with the yen and Swiss franc among the beneficiaries. The 10-year Treasury yield was slightly lower after declining 10 basis points Thursday, as traders priced in two Federal Reserve rate cuts this year. Australian and New Zealand yields fell.

The tepid action signaled caution after a strong week for risk assets following US-China trade talks. Coming into Friday’s session, a gauge of global stocks had advanced for seven days in a row to a level not seen since February when it set a record.

Shares in Taiwan, Australia and South Korea rose, while those in Japan whipsawed and stocks in China fell. US equity futures were flat after the S&P 500 gained 0.4% on Thursday, helped along by defensive dividend-payers that had underperformed in the past month. Meta paced losses in Big Tech on Thursday after a news report it was delaying file rollout of a flagship AI model. Alibaba Group shares fell as much as 6.7% in Hong Kong after quarterly revenue disappointed.