Picture used for illustrative purpose. File

Gulf Today Report 

European stocks declined on Friday as bond yields increased, stimulus and vaccination programmes boosted hopes of solid economic recovery. 

The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.5% after a four-session winning streak drove it to pre-pandemic highs a day earlier.

Bert Colijn, senior eurozone economist at ING said, "on one hand, we had the ECB that tried to talk down yields, but at the same time we had the final approval of the big Biden stimulus package that drove US yields somewhat higher again."

Tech sector led the decline in Europe, dropping by 1.7%, while automakers and miners also weighed.

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Gold declines as US bond yields firm

Indian shares record gains due to financial rise

UK economy drops by 2.9% in January due to COVID-19 restrictions

Asian stocks 

Asian stocks were mixed on Friday following broad gains lifting several indexes to all-time highs.

Shares rose in Jakarta but fell in Singapore and Malaysia. Taiwan was unchanged. 

Tokyo’s benchmark rose 1% while Chinese indexes slipped as investors cashed in on recent surges in share prices. 

The Nikkei 225 added 277 points to 29,488.74 while South Korea's Kospi climbed 0.9% to 3,041.31. Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 0.5% to 29,238.89 and the Shanghai Composite index declined 0.3% to 3,428.15. 

The passage of US stimulus bill and progress in vaccination drive has boosted investors’ confidence.