Asian stocks edge up, euro falls on French concern

Asian stocks edged higher after US shares rose Friday as global markets enter a seasonally strong period. The euro weakened amid a dispute over the French budget.

The MSCI gauge of Asian shares headed for a second day of gains with benchmarks in South Korea and Australia among those gaining. The euro slipped after France’s far-right leader Marine Le Pen gave the strongest indication yet that she’s prepared to topple the government as soon as this week.

“Reduced liquidity will be a factor as we roll through the month, but so could a potential performance chase from active managers to beat their set benchmark,” said Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone in Melbourne. “When these dynamics

Finance Minister Antoine Armand said France won’t accept artificial budget deadlines from Marine Le Pen. The far-right leader has told the prime minister he needs to make tweaks to his 2025 budget by Monday, which is when opposition lawmakers are expected to initiate the process to call the vote of no-confidence.

Emerging market assets including China’s yuan and South African rand may face volatility after US President Donald Trump warned BRICS nations he will require a commitment that they won’t create a new currency, or favor another in a bid to displace the US dollar in global trade. Should they not meet Trump’s demands, he threatened to lob 100% tariffs on their goods entering the US.

Trump’s pick for his Treasury secretary earlier this month had fueled optimism that tariffs will be measured, boosting US stocks and bonds, and sapping dollar strength. US stocks climbed 5.7% in November for the best month of this year, while the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index declined more than 1% last week, snapping eight weeks of gains.

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