Stocks near highs as markets await Trump-Putin talks
The MSCI All Country World Index consolidated recent gains as European stocks edged higher in early trading. The index was last up 0.2% at 953.4, just shy of the record level of 954.21 set on Wednesday.
Wall Street futures were also up slightly, around 0.1-0.2%.
The White House has said the Trump-Putin meeting will take place at 11 a.m. Alaska time (1900 GMT), with the U.S. president's hopes of a ceasefire agreement on Ukraine uncertain. Trump has said a second summit involving Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy could follow if the talks go well.
"There's still a small degree of risk premium in European markets because of the war. Any resolution will ultimately pare that back," said Shaniel Ramjee, co-head of multi-asset at Pictet Asset Management, adding that oil and other commodity prices could also react.
"But I think that the market has learnt not to expect too much from these negotiations. Ultimately, Zelenskiy and the Europeans are not invited. They will need to be involved in any final negotiation."
Investors are also training their sights on U.S. retail data due later, after an unexpected spike in producer price data on Thursday renewed inflation concerns and pared market expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts this year.
"What it did was to get rid of all the chat about a 50 basis point cut (in September)," said Mike Houlahan, director at Electus Financial Ltd in Auckland.
The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was last trading down 0.2% at 97.965.
Japanese GDP data released on Friday showed the economy expanding by an annualised 1.0% in the April-June quarter, beating analyst estimates. The dollar weakened 0.4% against the yen to 147.16.
In commodities markets, Brent crude was down 0.7% at $63.52 per barrel. Gold edged up 0.2% to $3,342 per ounce.
Cryptocurrency markets stabilised after bitcoin touched a record $124,480.82 on Thursday. The digital currency was last up 0.9%.
Bitcoin surged to fresh record highs this week, trading above $123,000 and pushing further past July's peak as momentum from institutional buying, corporate treasury adoption, US policy support, and sovereign-level gains continues to build.
The move strengthens global financial advisory giant
The world's largest cryptocurrency has now risen more than 31% since the start of the year and is up around 60% from April's market lows.
A combination of unprecedented inflows into US spot Bitcoin ETFs, balance-sheet allocations from major public companies, pro-Bitcoin policies from President Donald Trump's administration, and rising national-level profits from BTC adoption are driving the latest rally.
Nigel Green, CEO and founder of deVere Group, says: 'We're seeing multiple, powerful forces converging to push Bitcoin to new highs.
'Institutional capital is pouring in through spot ETFs at record volumes. Public companies are treating Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset. The White House is actively supporting the asset class. Nation states are already in profit on their Bitcoin positions. These aren't isolated developments; they're part of a deep, systemic shift in the global financial system.'
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