Asian stock markets are trading mostly lower on Friday, following the broadly negative cues overnight from Wall Street, as traders cashed in on the recent strength in the markets and on news of Chinese property developer Evergrande defaulted on US dollar bonds. Traders are also concerned after several countries across the world announced stricter restrictions on movements to curb the spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. Asian markets ended mixed on Thursday.
Traders are now looking ahead to U.S. inflation data and next week's U.S. Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement for cues on the economy. Reports suggest the Fed could decide to double the pace of tapering its asset purchase program to $30 billion per month.
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May 22, 2026 14:46 ET Minutes of the latest Fed policy session was the highlight of the week along with survey data on the U.S. housing market. In Europe, survey data signaled the trends in the euro area private sector. Further, consumer price inflation data from the U.K. was in focus. In Asia, various economic indicators from China drew attention to the health of the economy.