The rally in Japanese stocks has pushed some market indicators close to levels struck ahead of last year’s meltdown, after a US trade deal propelled equities to a record.

Global equities ex-US were already leading US stocks in 2025 by a wide margin ahead of the trade deal announced this week between the US and Japan.

Wall Street climbed Wednesday after President Donald Trump reached a trade deal with Japan and hopes rose for more agreements by August 1.

Asian shares are lower after Wall Street inched to more records as gains for Alphabet and artificial-intelligence stocks offset a steep tumble for EV-maker Tesla.

Japan trade deal boosts Japanese equities and benefits Franklin FTSE Japan ETF, but faces issues with tariffs and market trends. Click for my FLJP update.

MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe edged down 0.1%, but remained just below an all-time peak from Thursday. The index is on course for a 1.3% weekly advance, buoyed in large part by optimism for U.S. trade deals with the European Union and China, following an agreement with Japan this week.