Asian stock markets are trading mostly higher on Friday, following the broadly positive cues from global markets overnight, as data showing a drop in U.S. consumer prices inflation in the month of December, the first time in more than two and a half years, raised expectations the US Fed will slow down the pace of its interest rate hikes in the coming months. Asian markets ended mostly higher on Thursday.
The US Fed is still widely expected to raise rates by at least 25 basis points at its next meeting.
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Business News
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.