Some of Japan’s biggest trading houses reported bumper profits and flagged more to come as they benefited from higher energy and commodities prices. Sumitomo Corp. raised its full-year net income forecast by almost half to a record of 550 billion yen ($3.7 billion). Marubeni Corp. upgraded its profit guidance to an all-time high, while Itochu Corp.’s second-quarter profit beat analyst …

Global equities trimmed a weekly loss as Chinese shares surged amid signs that authorities are trying harder to ease the impact of its Covid-Zero policy. Treasuries were little changed before US payrolls data. US futures advanced, with the Nasdaq 100 poised to trim its biggest weekly drop since the start of the year, and US-listed Chinese stocks surging in premarket …

The Czech central bank confirmed a preference for keeping borrowing costs stable, defying its new forecast that called for significant monetary tightening. Policy makers left the benchmark rate at 7%, keeping it unchanged for a third meeting after the bank’s new leadership halted a year of rapid hikes. Officials also reaffirmed their intervention policy of preventing excessive koruna swings, which …