The Asian markets are expected to be in a cautious mood on Friday, reacting to an unexpected interest rate cut from the world's second largest economy.
While the surprise cut from China backed up recent optimism about further stimulus from the world's central banks, it also raised some questions about the strength of the Chinese economy.
Over in the U.S., the Labor Department reported a drop in initial jobless claims - but comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke were disappointing as he made no explicit reference to further easing measures.
In Europe, the Bank of England opted not to increase the size and scope of its quantitative easing program despite headwinds from Eurozone posing a significant threat to economic recovery.
The major U.S. averages were mixed on Thursday as the Dow climbed 46.17 points or 0.4 percent to finish at 12,460.96, while the NASDAQ fell 13.70 points or 0.5 percent to end at 2,831.02 and the S&P 500 edged down 0.14 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 1,314.99.
The major European markets were higher on Thursday as the DAX of Germany climbed by 0.82 percent and the CAC 40 of France gained 0.42 percent. The FTSE 100 of the U.K. rose by 1.18 percent and the SMI of Switzerland closed higher by 0.80 percent.
The Asian markets were mostly higher on Thursday as South Korea's KOSPI surged 2.56 percent, while Japan's Nikkei jumped 1.2 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng collected 0.85 percent, Malaysia added 0.37 percent, Taiwan gathered 0.34 percent and Thailand added 0.05 percent. On the other hand, China's Shanghai Composite shed 0.71 percent, Singapore's Straits Times eased 0.06 percent and Indonesia lost 0.02 percent.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.