Asian stock markets are mostly higher on Friday with investor sentiment boosted by positive developments on the U.S.-China trade front and following the European Central Bank's announcement that it will resume its quantitative easing program.
U.S. President Donald Trump said he would consider an interim trade deal with China, though it would not be preferred. Meanwhile, the ECB lowered its main deposit rate by 10 basis points and announced plans to restart its quantitative easing program by purchasing assets at a pace of 20 billion euros per month beginning November 1.
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Market Analysis
May 15, 2026 15:25 ET Apart from the confirmation of Kevin Warsh as the next Fed chair, the main news on the economics front this week included key price data from the U.S. and the first quarter economic growth figures from major economies. Both consumer prices and producer costs have started to reflect the effect of supply shocks due to the Middle East conflict. In Europe, GDP data was in focus, while inflation data from China dominated the news flow in Asia.