• Asian stocks pressed further Friday after a rally on Wall Street encouraged by strong corporate earnings and as China loosened checks on home loans at some of its largest banks.
  • Japanese shares outperformed amidst a dip in the yen, Hong Kong gained and Chinese stocks were steady. US futures rose following the S&P 500’s best day since March. Earnings from major US banks beat estimates. US producer prices advanced at the slowest pace this year and Initial Jobless Claims fell, raising sentiment.
  • China is loosening restraints on home loans amidst increasing worry about contamination from the debt crisis at China Evergrande. The PBoC added enough medium-term funds to maintain financial-system liquidity at current levels.
  • US 10-year Treasury yield advanced and the dollar was relatively unchanged. Bitcoin extended a climb with the Securities and Exchange Commission poised to allow the first US bitcoin futures exchange-traded fund to begin trading, according to sources familiar with the matter.
tony