European shares rallied, Asian stocks were mixed and US equity futures slipped as traders struggled to make sense of wild price swings that saw the Dow Jones Industrial Index rally more than 800 points in two hours on Thursday. The yen led gains against the dollar and gold climbed as traders looked for havens from the remarkable bout of volatility. Miners and technology companies led gains in the Stoxx Europe 600 Index, yet futures on the Dow and Nasdaq pointed lower following roller-coaster trading in the previous session that saw the S&P 500 erase a drop of almost 3 per cent in an afternoon recovery Thursday -- the biggest upward reversal since 2010. In Asia, Japanese shares declined, while stocks in China saw modest gains. Yields on 10-year Treasuries held under 2.8 per cent and their Japanese counterparts dipped below zero. Oil bounced with commodities. Following twists and turns in US equities in the last two trading sessions, even some longer-term bulls point to the value in bulking up on safer investments. Plenty of event risks loom in the coming quarter, from the UK vote on the Brexit deal to US-China trade talks to the continuing showdown between President Donald Trump and Congress over the budget. “We’re heading into a period of higher volatility,” said Manpreet Gill, head of fixed income, currency and commodities strategy at Standard Chartered in Singapore. “You need to have some dry powder on the side to take advantage of that. That’s where we particularly think that cash plays a bit of a role.” Japan and China had their final trading day of the year Friday. Aside from any further developments on the American political front -- where departures of senior officials and tensions at the White House over the Federal Reserve have unsettled investors, upcoming manufacturing PMIs from China and the US may be a focus in the coming week. <strong>__________</strong> <strong>Read more:</strong> <strong>__________</strong> Here’s a look at how some key assets have done this year: Here are some events investors may focus on in coming days: And these are the main moves in markets: Stocks Currencies Bonds Commodities