Mumbai, Jan. 2 -- Asian stocks surged in thin holiday trade on Friday after ending 2025 on a subdued note. Regional trading volumes remained thin due to holidays in Japan, China and New Zealand.

The dollar made a feeble start to 2026 after suffering its sharpest drop in eight years amid mounting economic uncertainties and rate cut expectations.

Current head Jerome Powell's term ends in May and President Donald Trump already said that he wants to see interest rates go down to 1 percent.

U.S. economic data due next week, including the U.S. payrolls report and jobless data may provide additional clues on whether the next Federal Reserve chief would opt for deeper interest-rate cuts.

Oil climbed on the first trading day of 2026 after capp...