Asian stock markets are trading mixed on Friday, following the firmly positive cues overnight from Wall Street, as traders remain cautiously optimistic about a faster global economic recovery after the US Federal Reserve signaled a scale down in stimulus and easing concerns about the impact of Chinese real estate major Evergrande's debt woes. Asian markets ended mostly higher on Thursday.
Meanwhile, traders remain concerned about the impact of the rapid spread of the delta variant of coronavirus in the region and in several countries, particularly in the U.S., which continues to stifle economic activity.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Business News
April 17, 2026 15:29 ET The ongoing conflict in the Middle East continues to raise concerns for policymakers who worry about the impact of the supply shock and high energy prices on the real economy. Producer price data and various survey results on the housing market were the main news from the U.S. this week. In Europe, industrial production data for the euro area gained attention. GDP figures out of China and the policy move by the Singapore central bank were in focus in Asia.