Asian stock markets are trading mostly higher on Friday, following the broadly positive cues overnight from Wall Street, as traders indulged in bargain hunting in the oversold bourses, particularly among the technology shares, even as the possibility of a global recession remains. Traders also digest comments from US Fed Chair Jerome Powell on the second day of his testimony. Asian markets ended mixed on Thursday.
In his testimony before the Senate Banking Committee, Powell again stressed that the Fed hopes to rein in the worst inflation in four decades without pushing the economy into a recession, but acknowledged "that path has gotten more and more challenging."
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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.