Asian stocks ended mostly lower on Thursday as a sharp rise in oil prices on fears of a prolonged conflict in the Middle East overshadowed stronger-than-expected earnings from U.S. tech giants.
Sentiment was also shaped by the U.S. Federal Reserve's hawkish hold, as was widely expected, in the most divided FOMC vote since October 1992.
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May 01, 2026 15:54 ET Central banks dominated the economics news flow this week with almost all major ones announcing their latest policy decisions and many boosted expectations for a rate hike in June. In other news, several countries released the preliminary data for first quarter economic growth. In the U.S., comments by Fed Chair Jerome Powell were also in focus as his term ends this month.