A rollercoaster ride for Wall Street giants appears to be ending on a high note, with Microsoft and Alphabet impressing investors with their earnings reports.
Meanwhile, the yen took another nosedive in Asia as the Bank of Japan opted to maintain its current monetary policy. The dollar, however, softened against other major currencies following Thursday's unexpected setback in the U.S. gross domestic product figures. Nasdaq futures surged by over 1% overnight, with S&P500 futures also climbing around 0.8%.
Asian and European markets joined the rally on Friday, with the VIX volatility index remaining relatively stable near its lowest point in two weeks.

Asia Pacific Markets
Attention in Asia turned to the increasingly erratic Japanese yen, which plummeted over 0.5% to hit yet another 34-year low at around 156.82 against the dollar. Traders speculated about potential intervention to halt its decline, though no such action was confirmed. Despite fluctuating wildly during London trading hours, the yen retained much of its losses for the day.
The Bank of Japan left interest rates unchanged and expressed confidence in reaching its 2% inflation target in the coming years, hinting at possible rate hikes later in 2024. However, uncertainty about the future rate hike path and the substantial interest rate gap between Japan and other developed economies contributed to the yen's decline.

European Markets
European markets saw a resurgence of positive momentum, with the pan-European Stoxx 600 index rising by 0.71% by 12:27 London time. Most sectors and major bourses traded in positive territory.
Both the Euro and Sterling tested resistance levels against the US Dollar, hovering around $1.0740 and $1.2540 respectively.

American Markets
Despite the U.S. economy recording its slowest growth in nearly two years during Q1, solid domestic demand and upward inflation indicators suggested the Federal Reserve would likely postpone any interest rate cuts until September. Treasury yields eased on Friday as traders awaited the release of the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, the PCE inflation index for March. While headline PCE inflation was expected to rise slightly to 2.6%, the core rate was forecasted to dip to 2.7%.