Crude led the honest movers into the London close. USOil rose 1.42% to $84.01 and UKOil added 1.35% to $88.99, both sitting on year-on-year gains north of 31%.

That firm energy bid coincided with a mostly green European tape, even as US index futures drifted lower.

Indices

Continental benchmarks outperformed. The CAC 40 gained 0.81% to 8,402.11, the Euro Stoxx 50 rose 0.74% to 6,478.58, and the IBEX 35 added 0.65% to 20,015.28. The FTSE 100 edged up 0.26% to 10,821.01.

The DAX 40 was the European laggard, off 0.36% to 26,459.04, though it holds a 2.93% monthly gain.

Wall Street pointed the other way. The Nasdaq 100 slipped 0.73% to 29,238.63, the S&P 500 fell 0.45% to 7,677.70, and the Dow eased 0.29%. All three keep firm monthly advances, the Nasdaq up 3.77%.

Asia set a heavier tone overnight: the Nikkei 225 dropped 1.5% to 64,818.40, one of the session’s larger declines, yet it remains up 53.17% on the year.

Currencies

The majors were quiet. EUR/USD held at 1.15744 and GBP/USD at 1.35280, both down fractionally on the day but off roughly 0.8% on the week. USD/JPY sat at 160.05, little changed.

The rand was the standout in FX. USD/ZAR fell 1.16% to 15.953, extending a 3.42% monthly slide. The dollar also lost ground against the Norwegian krone, with USD/NOK down 0.26% to 9.34623.

Metals

Precious metals steadied after a rough week. Gold ticked up 0.10% to $4,458.95 and silver added 0.20% to $66.45, but both carry weekly losses near 4.7%. Platinum rose 0.33% to $1,834.20, while palladium’s 4.86% weekly gain stands out against that backdrop.

Crypto

The day’s biggest single move came from UNI, up 9.57% to $5.127 and 18.39% higher on the week. Elsewhere the majors were mixed: Ethereum rose 0.92% to $2,479.67, Bitcoin added 0.55% to $78,639.81, and BNB gained 0.65%.

The downside was concentrated in smaller names. MATIC dropped 7.64% to $0.0895, leading all losers, while Solana fell 1.13% to $104.37 despite a 45.30% monthly surge. XRP and Cardano were softer, XRP flat at 1.3947 and ADA off 0.75%.

With US cash markets soft into the afternoon, the tech-heavy Nasdaq remains the session’s weak spot against a firmer European close.