The sell-off on Wall Street overnight is dragging Asian stock markets in the red on Friday, as traders react to the hawkish remarks by US Fed Chair Jerome Powell that the central bank "will not hesitate" to resume raising interest rates if it becomes appropriate. The surge in Treasury yields also weighed on the markets. Asian markets ended mostly higher on Thursday.
Participating in a policy panel in Washington, D.C., Powell acknowledged that U.S. inflation has slowed over the past year but pointed out it remains well above the Fed's 2 percent target. He added that the central bank will continue to move carefully and decide on its policy path meeting by meeting.
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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.