US stock futures point to a down day on Wall Street, while equities in Europe and Asia advanced in muted holiday trading. Oil drifted.

Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato said the government will take appropriate steps against excessive movements in the yen. The Bank of Japan signaled that an interest-rate hike next month remains on the table. Inflation in Tokyo accelerated.

South Korea's won led declines among emerging-market currencies after parliament impeached Acting President Han Duck-soo, dealing another blow to a government already reeling after President Yoon Suk Yeol's suspension less than two weeks ago.

A Bitcoin rally is fizzling in the final days of a record-breaking year for the digital asset. Elsewhere, Chinese government bonds are primed for their best year in a decade.

Weak luxury-good demand and political instability made 2024 a year to forget for France's biggest billionaires. Bernard Arnault, Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, and François Pinault saw about $70 billion erased from their collective wealth, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.