Swiss stocks turned in a fine performance on Friday, extending gains from the previous session, as some encouraging earnings updates and possibility of another rate cut from the Swiss National Bank helped underpin sentiment.

The major European stocks closed lower on Friday, drifting down for a second straight session, on concerns the Federal Reserve will likely keep interest rates higher for a longer time. Some disappointing earnings updates hurt as well.

The U.S. dollar declined against its major counterparts in the New York session on Friday on growing expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve could start cutting interest rates as early as September.

The Canadian market is up in positive territory on Friday, supported by strong gains in materials shares, which are moving up on firm metal prices.

Suggesting softer economic conditions lay ahead, the Conference Board released a report on Friday showing a continued decrease by its reading on leading U.S. economic indicators in the month of April. The Conference Board said its leading economic index fell by 0.6 percent in April after dipping by 0.3 percent in March. Economists had expected the index to decrease by another 0.3 percent.

Expert market comment made by senior analyst Alex Kuptsikevich of the FxPro Analyst Team: The dollar index clings to the uptrend

This Forex Market Report offers an overview of critical economic and financial events that impact the global forex markets. Traders should closely monitor developments to fine-tune their trading strategies accordingly.

The US stock market has surged to new heights, with the S&P 500 index reaching a record high of 5,325 points and the DJIA index touching 40,000 points. Investors are experiencing euphoria, spurred by the unexpectedly low US inflation figures released earlier.

US import prices see largest surge in two years - Investors scale back Fed rate cut bets - Yen slides on BoJ bond operation, Ueda’s remarks - Wall Street pulls back after hitting fresh record highs

Expert market comment made by senior analyst Alex Kuptsikevich of the FxPro Analyst Team: The crypto market is ready to grow further