A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from

Ankur Banerjee

A whirlwind October is set to end with investors unsure of

the global monetary policy path in the near term, while a trade

truce between the world's top two economies calmed market nerves

even as a mixed bag of mega-cap earnings kept momentum in check.

The action-packed week started with signs of cooling

tensions between the U.S. and China. It also had the Federal

Reserve delivering an expected rate cut, but with a warning from

Chair Jerome Powell that this cut might be the last one in 2025.

That helped firm up the dollar, which is on pace for a

nearly 2% gain for the month. The yen, on the other hand, was

loitering around its lowest level since February at just under

154 per dollar, spurring some verbal jawboning by Tokyo

officials.

The Bank of Japan held rates steady on Thursday as expected,

but markets interpreted comments from Governor Kazuo Ueda as

dovish even though he dropped hints that a rate hike remains on

the table.

The slump in the yen, down nearly 4% in October, has been a

boost for the Nikkei, which breezed past another record

high and is on pace for a 16% surge in the month, its strongest

monthly performance since January 1994. The "Takaichi trade" in

all its glory.

South Korea's Kospi, the best-performing stock

market in the world this year, is on course for a 20% rise in

October, the biggest surge since January 2001.

Much of the enthusiasm in the stock market this year has

been about artificial intelligence. The earnings season has

sketched out a mixed picture so far, with investors desperately

seeking a clearer sense of how the massive - and still growing -

capex binge around AI will boost future earnings.

Amazon ( AMZN ) shares soared as cloud revenue rose at its

fastest pace in nearly three years, lifting Nasdaq futures and

setting up a strong Halloween for tech stocks. The online

retailer benefited as businesses continue to spend relentlessly

on AI software development.

Watch out for a boost from Apple ( AAPL ) as well after the

iPhone maker gave forecasts for holiday quarter revenue that

surpassed Wall Street expectations.

Key developments that could influence markets on Friday:

Economic events: October inflation data for euro zone

and France, September retail sales for Germany