Asian Stocks Extend Winning Streak as Tech Earnings Lift Sentiment; Dollar Holds Firm

Asian shares were set for a seventh straight month of gains on Friday, buoyed by strong earnings from Amazon and Apple, which lifted Wall Street futures. The U.S. dollar hovered near a three-month high amid uncertainty over the Federal Reserve’s next policy move.

Nasdaq futures jumped 1.1%, and S&P 500 futures gained 0.6%, as Amazon (AMZN) surged 13% after stellar results added over $300 billion to its market value. Apple (AAPL) rose 2.3% after upbeat iPhone sales guidance, offsetting weakness in Meta (META) and Microsoft (MSFT), whose rising AI spending weighed on sentiment.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 rallied 1.9%, bringing monthly gains to 16.4%—its best performance since 1990—on optimism over new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s stimulus plans. The broader MSCI Asia-Pacific ex-Japan index eased 0.4% on Friday but remained up 1% for the week and 4% for the month, while Chinese stocks fell after weak factory data.

Investors also digested news of a U.S.-China trade truce, which included tariff cuts, resumed U.S. soybean purchases, and continued rare earth exports from Beijing.

In currencies, the euro held steady at $1.1569 after the ECB left rates unchanged for a third meeting. The U.S. dollar index (DXY) stayed firm near 99.5, supported by rising Treasury yields, with the 10-year yield at 4.10%.