Asian stock markets are trading mostly lower on Friday, following the broadly negative cues overnight from Wall Street, as crude oil prices slipped and traders booked profits after the recent gains. The Russia-Ukraine crisis also continues to hurt market sentiment after Russian forces stepped up their attack and bombarded Ukraine's second-largest city and besieged two ports. Asian markets ended mostly higher on Thursday.
Traders also remain worried the sanctions imposed on Russia along with the subsequent surge in oil prices could derail the economic recovery even as the U.S. Federal Reserve prepares to begin raising interest rates.
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Business News
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.