The Asian stock markets are expected to open higher on Friday, ahead of this weekend's critical vote in Greece and in spite of more depressing news from Spain.
In yet another blow to Europe's efforts to contain the deepening debt crisis, Moody's Investors Service downgraded two euro area members, Spain and Cyprus, and placed their bond ratings on review for further possible downgrade.
Also, Spanish banks' net borrowings from the European Central Bank rose to a record high in May, Bank of Spain said on Thursday. And the Spanish 10-year bond yield hit a euro-era record 7 percent, while the Italian 10-year yield was close to 6.30 percent.
But the bad news has also prompted optimism as global central banks are reportedly preparing for further financial stimulus.
The major U.S. averages were higher on Thursday as the Dow jumped 155.53 points or 1.2 percent to finish at 12,651.91, while the NASDAQ rose 17.72 points or 0.6 percent to end at 2,836.33 and the S&P 500 climbed 14.22 points or 1.1 percent to 1,329.10.
The major European markets were mixed on Thursday as the CAC 40 of France climbed by 0.08 percent, but the DAX of Germany decreased by 0.23 percent. The FTSE 100 of the U.K. dropped by 0.31 percent and the SMI of Switzerland finished down by 0.61 percent.
The Asian markets finished mostly lower on Thursday as Indonesia plummeted 1.78 percent, while India plunged 1.20 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 1.15 percent, China's Shanghai Composite lost 0.99 percent, Australia shed 0.53 percent, Singapore's Straits Times was down 0.47 percent, Thailand retreated 0.45 percent, Malaysia fall 0.34 percent, Japan's Nikkei eased 0.22 percent and Taiwan lost 0.19 percent.
Moving higher, New Zealand surged 1.02 percent and South Korea's KOSPI climbed 0.65 percent.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Market Analysis
June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.