Asian stocks ended mixed on Friday but logged their best week in months on receding concerns over the Federal Reserve's aggressive interest rate hikes.
The euro fell from a more than two-week high reached on Thursday after the European Central Bank surprised markets by lifting policy rates by 50 basis points - marking its first hike in 11 years and ending a policy of negative interest rates that had been in place since 2014.
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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.