Asian stock markets are mostly lower in thin holiday trading on Thursday following the mixed cues from Wall Street after a U.S. Labor Department report showed tame consumer price inflation in January and as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said that the U.S. is still "very far" from a strong labor market. Some of the markets in the Asian region are closed for public holidays.
The Australian market is edging lower in choppy trading following the mixed cues from Wall Street. Investors remained cautious as they digested mixed local corporate earnings results.
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May 01, 2026 15:54 ET Central banks dominated the economics news flow this week with almost all major ones announcing their latest policy decisions and many boosted expectations for a rate hike in June. In other news, several countries released the preliminary data for first quarter economic growth. In the U.S., comments by Fed Chair Jerome Powell were also in focus as his term ends this month.