Asian stock markets are trading mostly lower on Friday, ignoring the broadly positive cues overnight from Wall Street as traders continue to be worried about the alarming spread of the highly contagious coronavirus variants in the region as it will impact the pace of the global economy recovery from the pandemic. Asian markets ended mostly higher on Thursday.
Australian stock market is slightly lower after treading in the green early on Friday, giving up some of the gains in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 staying above the 7,400 level, ignoring the broadly positive cues overnight from Wall Street, as energy and technology stocks are weak. Traders also remain concerned amid the rapid spread of highly contagious coronavirus variants in New South Wales, with the extension of lockdown in Greater Sydney hindering economic activity.
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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.