Asian stock markets are trading mostly lower on Friday, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, amid renewed concerns about the US Fed further postponing its first interest rate cut to after June, following the release of hotter-than-expected producer price inflation data for February. Asian markets ended mixed on Thursday.
Adding to the losses in the previous session, the Australian stock market is significantly lower on Friday, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is falling well below the 7,700 level, with losses in mining, financial and technology stocks partially offset by gains in energy stocks on firmer crude oil prices.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Market Analysis
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.