Most Asian stocks firmed on Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump postponed a decision on U.S. involvement in the Israel-Iran war by two weeks, offering markets some near-term relief. 

Global foreign direct investment fell for the second consecutive year in 2024, with fears this year could be even worse as trade tensions rock investor confidence, the United Nations agency for trade and development said in a report published on Thursday.

HSBC expects the Federal Reserve to implement three 25-basis-point interest rate cuts through March 2025, according to a recent bank forecast. The global bank anticipates cuts in September and December this year, followed by another reduction in March 2025.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Wednesday goods price inflation will pick up over the course of the summer as President Donald Trump’s tariffs work their way to U.S. consumers, who he argued would bear some of those costs.

The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits fell last week, but stayed at levels consistent with a further loss of labor market momentum in June and softening economic activity.

U.S. central bankers are increasingly split over the appropriate path of policy, with the median of fresh forecasts published on Wednesday still pointing to a half percentage point of rate cuts by year-end, but a rising minority expecting no rate cuts at all.