London Wrap: European indices rally as yen firms across the board

European benchmarks carried a firm bid into the London close, with the Euro Stoxx 50 up 1.11% to 6,439.38 leading the regional gains.

The risk-on tone was broad. Wall Street’s cash indices were in step, the S&P 500 up 1.07% and the Nasdaq 100 up 1.10%.

Indices

The IBEX 35 added 1.03% and the CAC 40 rose 0.99%, while the DAX 40 gained 0.97% to 26,084.98. The Dow led the US majors at +1.08%.

London was the laggard. The FTSE 100 slipped 0.29% and is down 0.45% on the week, out of step with the continental rally.

Asia was mixed: the Hang Seng edged up 0.28%, but the Nikkei 225 fell 0.50% and sits 8.22% lower on the month.

Currencies

The yen was the clear FX story, firming against everything. AUD/JPY fell 0.95%, GBP/JPY dropped 0.72% and USD/JPY eased 0.25% to 157.19 — extending a 4.07% weekly slide in the pair.

The dollar was broadly a touch firmer elsewhere. EUR/USD slipped 0.30% to 1.15065 and GBP/USD fell 0.48% to 1.34243, though both hold weekly gains. The Aussie was soft, AUD/USD down 0.67%.

Metals & Crypto

Metals leaned lower. Gold eased 0.48% to 4,055.04, with platinum off 1.92% and palladium down 2.14%.

Crypto skewed green among the majors’ smaller peers. Polkadot rose 3.14% and Tezos 3.10%, while Cardano added 2.43% and is up 19.85% on the week. UNI was the standout decliner at -6.27%. Bitcoin held steady at 63,660.63 (+0.27%).

Crude softened, with USOil down 0.85% to 78.76.

Into the US afternoon, the yen’s strength remains the session’s most consistent thread.