Asian stock markets are mostly higher in thin holiday trading on Friday, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, with most markets in the region closed for Labor Day, including China, Hong Kong, South Korea and Singapore. Traders also indulged in bargain hunting after the recent weakness in the markets. Asian markets ended mostly lower on Thursday.
Traders also kept an eye on the price of crude oil, which pulled back sharply after soaring to its highest levels in four years despite lingering concerns about the Middle East conflict.
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Market Analysis
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.