Asian stock markets are trading mostly lower on Friday, tracking a sell-off on Wall Street overnight, as traders continued to react to the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement on Wednesday, when the central bank raised interest rates by 50 basis points as expected. Concerns about higher rates, inflation, the economic outlook and the ongoing war in Ukraine also remain. Asian markets ended mixed on Thursday.
The Australian stock market is sharply lower on Friday, giving up the gains in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 falling below the 7,200 level, following the sell-off overnight on Wall Street, with weakness in materials and energy stocks amid falling commodity prices. Technology stocks also mirrored their US peers on tech-heavy Nasdaq lower.
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April 24, 2026 15:15 ET Economics news flow was relatively light this week even as the conflict in the Middle East continued, raising concerns for policymakers. In the U.S., spending data, initial jobless claims and pending home sales were the highlights. Business confidence in the biggest euro area economy was in focus in Europe. Inflation data from Japan gained attention in Asia.