Asian stocks turned in a mixed performance on Friday as some strong U.S. economic data and hawkish comments from several Federal Reserve officials prompted traders to reduce their expectations for imminent interest rate cuts.
Investors await Fed Chair Jerome Powell's upcoming speech at the Jackson Hole symposium later in the day for additional clues on the timing and size of potential interest rate cuts.
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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.