The Japanese yen was the through-line of the European session, firming against every major counterpart as the JPY crosses slid roughly 1% into the London close.

Crypto delivered the day’s sharpest single moves, but the tape there was split rather than one-directional.

Currencies

USD/JPY fell 1.2% to 154.33, extending a 3.66% drop over the week. The yen strength rippled through the crosses: EUR/JPY lost 1.12% to 179.35, GBP/JPY eased 1.03% to 208.94, and CHF/JPY dropped 1.14% to 190.64. NZD/JPY was the softest of the group, down 1.35% to 90.63.

Elsewhere the dollar was quieter. EUR/USD nudged up 0.07% to 1.16179 and GBP/USD added 0.13% to 1.35317. USD/CAD slipped 0.15% to 1.38142, while USD/NOK fell 0.45% to 9.25706. The rand firmed, with USD/ZAR down 0.27% to 15.909 and off 1.57% on the week.

Crypto

Polkadot led all instruments, jumping 8.91% to 1.063 and now up 22.18% over the week. Stellar rose 2.88% to 0.19278 and Litecoin added 1.22% to 55.60.

The losers were equally pronounced. UNI dropped 5.97% to 6.8565 despite a 71.99% monthly gain, and LNK fell 3.56% to 12.751. Solana slid 2.39% to 103.93, still up 36.48% on the month. Among the majors, Bitcoin eased 1.39% to 79,203.82, Ethereum fell 0.85% to 2,492.46, and BNB gave back 1.79% to 738.50.

Metals and commodities

The platinum-group metals extended their run. Platinum climbed 1.16% to 1,832.16 and palladium added 0.74% to 1,401.57, up 7.46% over the week. Silver was flat at 66.16 but holds a 60.13% year-on-year gain. Gold slipped 0.39% to 4,406.26.

Crude held its bid. Brent (UKOil) rose 0.63% to 95.39 and WTI (USOil) added 0.62% to 90.65, both carrying monthly gains above 14%.

Indices

European equities finished mixed and muted. The DAX 40 eased 0.22% to 25,995.20 and the IBEX 35 fell 0.25% to 20,011.49, though the Spanish benchmark remains up 33.7% on the year. The CAC 40 edged up 0.15% to 8,294.14, and the Euro Stoxx 50 was essentially flat at 6,395.98. The FTSE 100 dipped 0.08% to 10,816.19.

Asia set a weaker tone: the Hang Seng lost 1.48% to 25,294.76, while the Nikkei 225 was flat at 66,044.59, still up 50.59% year-on-year.

Across the US futures picture, the Dow was the soft spot at -0.38%, with the Nasdaq 100 the lone gainer at +0.16%. The yen crosses remain the session’s clearest mover heading into the New York afternoon.