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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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.