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US: The S&P 500 and the technology-heavy NASDAQ closed lower on Thursday, as investors were rattled by the latest earnings reports and worried about whether hefty spending on artificial intelligence would pay off for mega cap tech companies.

Asia: Stocks were volatile in early Asian trading on Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump endorsed a bipartisan deal to avert a fresh government shutdown and said he has decided who he will nominate to lead the Federal Reserve.

India: Indian benchmark indices staged a smart rebound from intraday lows to end with marginal gains in a volatile session, after the Economic Survey projected GDP growth of 6.8–7.2% for FY27, compared with an estimated 7.4% expansion in the current fiscal. Market is expected to open on a gap down note and likely to witness range bound move during the day.

Global economy: The U.S. deficit with its global trading partners nearly doubled in Nov as the shortfall with the European Union swelled. Following a month where the trade deficit hit its lowest level since early 2009, it shot up to $56.8 Bn, an increase of 94.6% from Oct. Of that gain, about one-third came with the European Union, where the goods deficit rose by $8.2 Bn.

British business confidence has weakened this month after executives' view of the global economic outlook declined to its darkest in a year. Lloyds' business barometer slipped to a net balance of +44% in Jan from +47% in De, driven by a 14-point drop in businesses' net economic optimism to a one-year low of +28%. During the Jan 5 to Jan 20 survey period, President Trump threatened to impose tariffs on Britain and other European countries which opposed his efforts to bring Greenland under U.S. control.

The process for deciding on Powell’s replacement began in Sep with an 11-candidate field that included past and current Fed officials, economists and Wall Street investment professionals.

Commodities: Oil prices are headed for their biggest monthly gains in years on Friday as tensions in the Middle East escalated over a possible U.S. attack on Iran that could disrupt supplies from one of the biggest OPEC producers.

Gold prices fell on Friday, pressured by a firmer dollar, but were set for their biggest monthly gain since 1980 as investors piled into the safe-haven metal amid persistent geopolitical and economic uncertainties.

Currency: The dollar was poised for a second straight weekly decline on Friday as tariff threats against countries trading with Cuba added to global tensions that have sapped demand for U.S. assets.

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