Asian stock markets are trading mostly weak on Thursday, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, on renewed concerns over the outlook for interest rates and recession fear as disappointing US data showed a more than expected drop in retail sales and industrial production. Asian Markets closed mostly higher on Wednesday.
St. Louis US Fed President James Bullard also commented that the central bank needs to quickly hike interest rates above 5 percent, shelving much of the recent optimism over interest rates.
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Business News
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.