With a Reuters poll pointing to a sharp slowing in Tokyo's core CPI for July next week, Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda is likely to remain confident about sticking to Japan's ultra-easy policy settings next Friday, keeping the yen on the back foot.
China's latest efforts to boost consumption provided a small lift to mainland stocks, but markets continue to look ahead to the Politburo meeting, expected next week, for bigger stimulus announcements.
The piecemeal measures unveiled so far suggest there's plenty of scope for disappointment.
Where Beijing seems to be having greater impact is in propping up the Chinese yuan , which was holding the bulk of Thursday's gains after another stronger-than-forecast midpoint setting on Friday.
A sharp drop in the July GfK consumer confidence gauge, which came in below the lowest Reuters poll forecast, suggests sentiment remains downbeat after what's expected to be a weaker UK retail sales reading for June.
Persons:
Sonali Desai, Kazuo Ueda, Edmund Klamann
Organizations:
Netflix, Bank of Japan, U.S . Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, Reuters, Thales SA, Bank, American Express, Schlumberger NV, Thomson
Locations:
Asia, Japan, U.S, Beijing, propping