Asian stock markets are trading mixed on Wednesday, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, in reaction to US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's remarks at the Economic Club of Washington that he expects 2023 to be a year of "significant declines in inflation." He also cautioned that interest rates could rise more than markets expect if the economic data doesn't cooperate. Asian markets closed mixed on Tuesday.
"The disinflationary process, the process of getting inflation down, has begun and it's begun in the goods sector, which is about a quarter of our economy," Powell said at the event. "But it has a long way to go. These are the very early stages."
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June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.